Ten months and 10 days in a urine-stained, lightless, grave-like cell in Jordan and another in Syria. Ten months and 10 days of beatings. Ten months and 10 days of interrogations causing spontaneous defecation. Maher Arar was a Canadian citizen. He was a suspected terrorist and, during a flight layover in New York, Arar was detained by the United States and was later sent to rendition camps for further questioning. He didn't return home until almost a year later. He was convicted of nothing.
Seven years ago to this day, we witnessed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Almost 3,000 people died that day. Another 4,721 American soldiers have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. But even with all these sacrifices, we are losing the war on terror. It has little to do with how we are fighting abroad and everything to do with how we are living at home.
At home, Gov. Sarah Palin is the newest rage. Her placement on the ticket guarantees that white men will not dominate the two highest positions in the executive branch. Palin labeled herself a "hockey mom," bashed the biased media and promised to shake up the government. And then came her speech:
"Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and [Obama] wants to forfeit." One could see it that way.
"Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay; he wants to meet them without preconditions." This may be true.
"Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights." No.
We shouldn't be worried about making sure suspects are read their rights? The Founding Fathers certainly fretted over it. Just take a look at the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth amendments to find how much worrying actually went into the rights of the accused. We are a nation of laws. It is a major reason why we are respected throughout the world. That is why when people are politically silenced, wrongfully punished or live under brutal government oppression, we are the beacon of hope.
Waterboarding, stripping, humiliating, torturing. We are a better country than that. There's little question that we have outstepped the bounds set by the framers of our government (even the Republican presidential candidate believes we should end the practice of torture). If we want our morals to be spread in some other way than military invasion, maybe it's time we put aside these politics of fear, respect all human life and show the world that we are still so powerful that we can put even the most despicable murderers on trial.
Those who died Sept. 11 weren't the only victims of terror. Today, those who stand accused of terror crimes they did not commit find themselves at the mercy of powers they cannot overcome. Ahmad El Maati, a Canadian truck driver, suffered such a fate. During a border crossing in Aug. 2001, U.S. customs officials found El Maati with a map of government buildings in Otawa. Three months later, during a trip to Syria, El Maati was detained by Syrian officials. After being forced to strip, he was doused in ice water and was beaten with electric cables. He was later transferred to Egypt, where he was kept in handcuffs for most of the day, his shoulders intensely straining and his wrists bleeding. He was subjected to electric shock on his arms, legs and genitals. El Maati returned home to Canada two and a half years after he was first detained in Syria-the map was later discovered to be long outdated.
The innocent are drawn into a system that assumes guilt. And it is not an uncommon occurrence. False tips are routinely called in to the FBI or local law enforcement. The suspects can be detained for days before their names are cleared, and even then the repercussions of detainment can be long-lasting. It can be hard to reclaim a job in a community that has gotten wind of terrorist charges.
That's not the country we are. Countless people, civilians and soldiers alike, have lost their lives in the past seven years. For them, for us, for the future, we cannot afford to fail. But when we cast our most fundamental beliefs aside, when we unnecessarily forfeit the lives of some humans for the perceived benefit of others, the terrorists really have won.
Nothing stops us from having real trials. Nothing stops the most powerful nation this planet has ever seen from ringing the bell of justice all over the globe-except fear, by definition the primary weapon of the terrorist. But when we go back to our ideals, when we realize our potential and when we remember those who have paved the road to our greatness through the ultimate sacrifice, we will win, and the bell will toll not for the innocent, but for the guilty.
Elad Gross is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Thursday.
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