Quotes of the Morning: Dude, I Lost Syria

“Q: There are allegations that we sent people to Syria to be tortured…
McCLELLAN: To Syria?
Q: Yes. You’ve never heard of any allegations like that?
McCLELLAN: No, I’ve never heard that one. That’s a new one.
Q: Syria? You haven’t heard that?
McCLELLAN: That’s a new one.
Q: Well, I can assure you it’s been well publicized. My question is…
McCLELLAN: By what, bloggers?”
-Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan, January 18, 2006

“Well, yes. The bloggers have been talking about it. So has the Washington Post.”
-Skippy

“A Canadian citizen who was detained last year at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as a suspected terrorist said Tuesday he was secretly deported to Syria and endured 10 months of torture in a Syrian prison.”
-Washington Post (front page), November 5, 2003

“And the Associated Press…”
-Skippy

“Arar, 35, holds dual Syrian-Canadian citizenship and was traveling on a Canadian passport when he was stopped in New York during a stopover while returning to Canada from Tunisia. He was held for 12 days before being sent to Syria on suspicion of being a member of al-Qaida, an allegation he denies.
Arar maintains that once imprisoned in Damascus, he was tortured into making false confessions of terrorist activity. Arar said he was held for more than a year in a dark, damp cell, then was released without ever being charged.
The U.S. Justice Department has insisted that it had information linking Arar to al-Qaida, that Syria promised he would be treated humanely and that shipping him there was ‘in the best interest of the security of the United States.’ Syria has denied he was tortured.”
-Associated Press, June 19, 2005

“And there were little groups like the New York Times and New Yorker Magazine that got in on the action too.. Kind of remarkable that Scotty didn’t remember that happening, especially when he’s been asked this kind of question before..”
-Skippy

“Q Has the President ever issued an order against torture of prisoners? And do we still send prisoners to Syria to be tortured?
McCLELLAN: The President has stated publicly that we do not condone torture and that he would never authorize the use of torture. He has made that –
Q But has he issued an order?
MR. McCLELLAN: — statement very publicly, and he’s made it clear to everybody in the government that we do not torture.
Q Well, why do we still hear these stories then?
MR. McCLELLAN: If there are allegations of wrongdoing, then the President expects those allegations to be fully investigated and if there is actual wrongdoing that occurs, then people need to be held to account. The President has made that very clear.”
-Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan, February 28, 2005

“I know that the President doesn’t drink, but he and the other staff in the White House sure seem to have some short-term memory issues. They can’t seem to remember anything anymore. They can’t remember the issues, who Jack Abramoff is, or how we got into this mess in Iraq. Maybe its time for them to turn off the old Cheech and Chong movies and think about governing the country. Thanks to Think Progress for today’s Quotes.”
-Skippy