[Anyone] insanity in our gummint:

[Thos Myers]

Who forgot to tell Ambassador Wilkins that the US tortures prisoners?

Saturday 19 January 2008

Toronto - A training manual for Canadian diplomats lists the United States
as a country where prisoners risk torture and abuse, citing interrogation
techniques such as stripping prisoners, blindfolding and sleep
deprivation.

The Foreign Affairs Department document, released Friday, singled out the
U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It also names Israel,
Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Syria as places
where inmates could face torture.

The listing drew a sharp response from the U.S., a key NATO ally and
trading partner, which asked to removed from the manual.

"We find it to be offensive for us to be on the same list with countries
like Iran and China. Quite frankly it's absurd," U.S. Ambassador David
Wilkins told The Associated Press. "For us to be on a list like that is
just ridiculous."

He said the U.S. does not authorize or condone torture. "We think it
should be removed and we've made that request. We have voiced our opinion
very forcefully," Wilkins said.

Michael Mendel, the Israeli Embassy spokesman, said Israel's Supreme Court
"is on record as expressly prohibiting any type of torture. If Israel is
included in the list in question, the ambassador of Israel would expect
its removal," he said.

A Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr, is in custody at Guantanamo, but Canada
has long publicly said it accepts U.S. assurances that Khadr is being
treated humanely.

The government inadvertently released the manual to lawyers for Amnesty
International who are working on a lawsuit involving alleged abuse of
Afghan detainees by local Afghan authorities, after the detainees were
handed over by Canadian troops.

Canada said the manual is for training, and does not amount to official
government policy.

"It is not a policy document or any kind of a statement of policy. As such
it does not convey the government's views or positions," said Neil Hrab, a
spokesman for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department.

"The training manual purposely raised public issues to stimulate
discussion and debate in the classroom."

Human rights groups have long called on Canada to pressure the United
States to return Khadr from Guantanamo. They say Canada has not done
enough for Khadr, who has been in custody since he was 15. Khadr is
accused of tossing a grenade that killed one U.S. soldier and wounded
another in Afghanistan in 2002.

He is the son of an alleged al-Qaida financier, and his family has
received little sympathy in Canada, where they've been called the "First
Family of Terrorism."

Dennis Edney, one of Khadr's lawyers, said the foreign affairs document
shows that Canada says one thing publicly but believes something else
privately.

"Canada was well aware that Omar Khadr's allegations of being tortured had
a ring of truth to it. Canada has not once raised the protection of Omar
Khadr when there are such serious allegations," Edney said. "What does
that say to you about Canada's commitment to the rule of law and human
rights? It talks on both sides of its face."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011908C.shtml