The United States government has also flatly refused to cooperate with the Canadian commission of inquiry investigating the role of Canadian police and security organizations in Arar’s apprehension and transfer by U.S. authorities.105 In response to a June 2004 request from the Canadian inquiry’s lead counsel for information and other forms of cooperation, William H. Taft, IV, the U.S. State Department legal adviser, wrote: The United States government declines to provide documents in response to your request, or to provide statements by individuals involved in the case, or to facilitate witnesses appearing before the commission. We would note that as your inquiries focus on the actions of Canadian authorities, many of those questions should best be directed to the Government of Canada, rather than to the United States government.106 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General initiated an internal review of the Arar case in January 2004 to determine what role U.S. immigration officials played in Arar’s apprehension and transfer.107 The review will seek to answer the crucial question of why Arar was sent to Syria. Whether the DHS review will provide a complete picture of U.S. government conduct will depend in large part on whether the Inspector General can secure the cooperation of other arms of the U.S. government involved in handling Arar’s case, in particular the Department of Justice and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Renditions and Assurances: U.S. Acknowledges “No Control” PostTransfer While the DHS review offers some hope of revealing new information about the Arar case, the overall lack of transparency in the aftermath of Arar’s release has reinforced 105 Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar [online] http://www.ararcommission.ca/ (retrieved February 21, 2005). The Canadian inquiry has been riddled with delays and other problems. Few of the hearings have taken place in public. For national security reasons, the Canadian government has requested in-camera hearings and heavily redacted summaries of such hearings for public disclosure, giving rise to the criticism that the inquiry is not in fact a public one. See, for example, Commission of Inquiry Press Release, “Commission of Inquiry Blocked from Full Release of Documents; Government Raises New National Security Objections; Commissioner is Concerned that Public is being Denied Information in Arar Case,��� December 20, 2004 [online] http://www.ararcommission.ca/eng/ReleaseFinal_dec20.pdf (retrieved February 22, 2005). 106 Letter from William H. Taft, IV, Legal Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State, to Paul Cavalluzzo, Lead Commission Counsel, Maher Arar Commission of Inquiry, September 16, 2004, copy on file with Human Rights Watch. 107 Letter from Clark Kent Ervin, DHS Inspector General, to Hon. John Conyers, January 9, 2004, copy on file with Human Rights Watch. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D) 36