Extraordinarily Questionable

Something tells me that this issue is not going to go away easily. I hope it doesn't, and at least I will do my part. It is Called Torture, (as Bob Herbert has entitled his column in today's New York Times) and it is absolutely unacceptable. More so if it is sponsored by the United States, the champion of democracy, the "land of the free".
Washington has repeated so many times that the end justifies the means, that they have come to believe it. It is not acceptable to -in the name of "homeland security"- torture and detain people indefinitely without charges. It is also not acceptable by international standards and certainly not by this country's code of law, to deny a prisoner (suspect, detainee, illegal combatant, or however you want to call him) the right to legal representation, or to keep him incomunicado for any length of time.
Our government has the nerve to ship detainees to Syria (and other countries with similar records) with the purpose of circumventing US constitutional jursidiction, to have them tortured and extract unreliable information. They do this outside American soil, and turn a blind eye to the treatment given to these prisoners, and the methods used to extract information. In the meantime, this is what the State Department has to say about Syria on their website's country background notes:

Syria has been on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism since the list's inception in 1979. Because of its continuing support and safe haven for terrorist organizations, Syria is subject to legislatively mandated penalties, including export sanctions and ineligibility to receive most forms of U.S. aid or to purchase U.S. military equipment. . .Other issues of U.S. concern include the Syrian government’s human rights record, its support for terrorist groups in Syria and Lebanon, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, its continued military and security presence in Lebanon, and since the Iraq war, infiltration of foreign fighters and weapons across the Syrian-Iraqi border. In May 2004, the Bush administration, pursuant to the provisions of the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, implemented sanctions on Syria.

Why do we send prisoners to that country? Why do we even ask for their help? Operation Extraordinary Rendition is a highly questionable method to ensure our Homeland Security. Why, if the information these suspects have is supposedly so valuable, if they are such dangerous terrorists, would we not want to hold them here instead of risking losing them abroad? The US argues they hold sensitive information and therefore require special measures. Why then waste time sending them overseas? Why not have our very best interrogators, in our best interrogation facility talk to these individuals? What (if there is nothing to hide) can be done overseas that cannot be done here? Especially in a country like Syria, which sponsors terrorism, is developing a WMD program, is an occupying power in Lebanon, and has an arms embargo from the US?

Extraordinary Rendition is Extraordinarily Questionable.