When did we become like Syria? | Salon.com

When did we become like Syria? | Salon.com: "Arar's story is chilling. A Syrian-born Canadian citizen and high-tech worker, Arar was detained in 2002 at JFK Airport while he was on his way back to Canada after a vacation. He was questioned about alleged links to al-Qaida. He was denied access to counsel and access to a court. Twelve days later he was sent in chains and shackles to Syria. There he was tortured for nearly a year and coerced into making a false confession, before being released after the tireless campaigning of his wife.

Under pressure from Canadian human rights organizations and citizens, Canada announced a commission of inquiry into Arar's case, which cleared Arar of all terrorism allegations. Now Arar seeks damages from the U.S. government for its role.

The story is already disturbing, surreal, Kafkaesque. It also left me with this realization: The sharp line I had drawn as a child -- between what could happen to a person under a dictatorship like Syria's and what could never happen to a person under a constitutional democracy like that of the U.S. -- seemed to be disappearing."

This account is written by a Syrian-American... Very telling.