The case of Canadian citizen Maher Arar provides a graphic example of how the Bush administration’s policies in the war on terror are threatening traditional American values.

The facts of Arar’s case have been documented in a three-volume report almost 1,200 pages long headed by a Canadian judge. It can be read online at www.ararcommission.ca.

According to the commission’s report, Arar was arrested by U.S. authorities at JFK in September 2002, after a visit to relatives in Tunisia. He was held for 12 days, then put on a private plane at 3 a.m. and flown to Syria, despite his protest that he would be tortured there.

He was released after 10 months and 10 days. The commission concluded that his account of torture was true. Arar said he was beaten with fists and whipped with a cord that apparently was a shredded electrical cable. He said he was kept in a cell six feet long, three feet wide and seven feet high. There was no furniture.

The commission also concluded that Arar was innocent. Justice Dennis O’Connor who headed the commission said, “I am able to say categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Arar has committed any offense or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada.”

Arar was born in Syria in 1970, and came to Canada in 1987. He worked as a telecommunications engineer. He and his wife, who once ran for the Canadian parliament, have two children.

U.S. authorities blame inaccurate information from Canadian authorities for Arar’s arrest and rendition. His name had been placed incorrectly on a list of terror suspects. The Canadian House of Commons voted unanimously this week that Arar be presented with an apology.

America traditionally has valued the rights of the individual against the enormous power of government. Those values are embodied in the Bill of Rights ratified at the time of our nation’s founding.

Those traditional values were ignored in Arar’s case. He had no chance to confront his accusers. He had no chance to prove that the charges against him were false.

So far Arar has found no way in the United States to pursue justice. He sued the U.S. government, but the government was able to convince the court that defending against Arar’s lawsuit would require it to divulge information that would jeopardize the nation’s security.

If America is to remain true to its values it cannot cede absolute power to the executive branch of government.

Nebraska’s congressional delegation should join with Sen. John McCain, Colin Powell and others who are trying to revise administration policies and practices that produce abuses of power like the Arar case. American values need to be protected from within.