Saturday, January 20, 2007

Thank God for American progressive blogs.


And when I need actual news about important, breaking Canadian developments, I turn to Media Matters for America (emphasis added):

CNN uncritically reported Gonzales' defense of sending suspect to country that tortured him

On the January 18 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena uncritically reported Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' defense of the Bush administration's decision to send Canadian-Syrian citizen Maher Arar to Syria, where he was tortured and falsely confessed to terrorist affiliations, according to the findings in a Canadian judicial report that was released on September 18, 2006. During her report on Gonzales' January 18 appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arena reported that "Gonzales and other U.S. officials have said that they got assurances from Syria that Arar would not be tortured." Arena did not challenge or question Gonzales' assertion; she made no mention of Syria's reputation -- documented in the State Department's Human Rights reports -- for using torture in interrogations or that the Canadian inquiry noted such assurances often have little credibility.

Media Matters for America -- when responsible Canadians want to stay informed.

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