Not-my-department department

In commenting on the release of the findings of the Canadian commission investigating the rendition and torture of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, Attorney-General, Alberto "Abu" Gonzales claimed that "we were not responsible for his removal to Syria". This seemed rather strange considering that "American officials ordered him [Arar] taken to Syria, an action documented in public records".

However, all has been clarified:

On Wednesday, a Justice Department spokesman said Mr. Gonzales had intended to make only a narrow point: that deportations are now handled by the Department of Homeland Security, not the Department of Justice.

The spokesman, Charles Miller, said the attorney general forgot that at the time of Mr. Arar’s deportation, such matters were still handled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was part of the Department of Justice.

For you see, "Abu" was just making one of those distinctions without a difference: it wasn't DoJ, it was DHS, only it was wasn't. It was INS which is DoJ. Clear? And what was his point anyway? As one of Arar's lawyers said:

Maria C. LaHood, Mr. Arar’s lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, called Mr. Gonzales’ comments “unbelievable.”

“I had hoped that they would actually step up and say, ‘We made a mistake, we accept the report’s findings, we clear Mr. Arar’s name and we apologize,’ ” Ms. LaHood said.

But you see, BushCo don't apologize, ma'am. We screw up, lie about it and move on... to screw up again. And by the way... why are you helping the terrorists? Would you step over here? we've got some questions (and a plane ride) for you.