The Ethical Implications of "Extraordinary Rendition" in the War on Terror: The Case of Maher Arar.

This paper will explore the ethical implications of the practice of 'extraordinary rendition' in the current War on Terror from a critical-theoretical perspective. The practice of transferring terror suspects from Western states to states where they have faced indefinite incarceration and torture has recently come to the fore in the Western media, in part as a result of the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen of Syrian origin who was rendered to Syria where he faced ten months of appalling detention conditions and torture. Three central issues will be addressed in this paper. Firstly, the implications of multiple citizenship will be explored. The precarious space within which Arar found himself in regard to consular access and legal redress is directly related to his dual citizenship status. Far from a citizen of both Canada and Syria, Arar became recognisable as a citizen of neither. Secondly, issues surrounding the ways in which Arar became recognisable and visible to the Western media will be explored. Drawing on the work of Judith Butler and Jacques Derrida, the paper suggests ways in which identity construction occurs in relation to the degree to which an individual is recognisable as familiarly human. It will argue that Arar was constructed as 'other' in ways which contributed to making his rendering conceivable. Finally, the paper will turn to the ethical implications of Arar's case. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]