Canada FM regrets 'torture list'
Mr Bernier said he regretted the embarrassment the manual caused The Canadian foreign minister has apologised for including the US and Israel on a list of states where prisoners are at risk of torture.
Maxime Bernier said the list, which formed part of a manual on torture awareness given to diplomats, "wrongly includes some of our closest allies".
Mr Bernier insisted the manual was not a policy document and did not convey the official views of his government.
The listing was criticised by the US and Israel, who demanded it be changed.
That "headline" is one of the toughest things I've had to write. I hated writing it. However, it had to be written.
I really love this country and I really hate that Canada succumbed to US and Israeli pressure so quickly and easily. Actually it wasn't even really pressure; all it took was moral outrage and indignation. It didn't matter that the US at the very least have conducted state sanctioned torture... discomfiture tactics... enhanced interrogation techniques or what ever the hell euphemistic term they choose to use - all they essentially said was, "How Dare You?" and Canada responded with "Hmm, you present a strong and valid argument, we shall reconsider, after all how can we argue with such well thought out and poignant rhetoric?"
I don't know how it happened or when it began but why do nations just bow to this notion that the US government is beyond reproach? Instead of US outrage stemming from being associated with nations like China and Iran, the outrage should come from them being on that list, associated with China and Iran. And the only way off that list should be from the cessation of torturous activities not the diplomatic equivalent of holding one's breath.
A clip from Fox & Friends talking about Dick Cheney and water-boading.
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