Maher Arar, seen in December 2006. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)The Supreme Court rejection of Arar v. Ashcroft today demonstrates the failure of the U.S. legal system to prescribe redress for victims of the government's "war on terror." But don't expect the President or Congress to correct this latest travesty. No effective repudiation or reversal of the Bush regime's lawlessness has come forth in Obama's first 18 months as commander-in-chief. Guantanamo is still open, and new Guantanamos are now opening at the expanded Bagram prison, and perhaps also Thomson, Illinois. Witness the newly announced policy ordering the assassination of a U.S. citizen without criminal charges, prosecution or conviction -- only allegations about affiliations. Obama's continuance of war policy set under Bush is not only wrong-headed but illegal, and immoral. Â
It is up to us, the people, to resist these crimes against humanity.
"My case and other cases brought by human beings who were tortured have been thrown out by U.S. courts based on dubious government claims. Unless the American people stand up for justice they will soon see their hard-won civil liberties taken away from them as well." -Â extraordinary rendition survivor Maher Arar
