US Rendition: Every Suspected CIA Flight Mapped

New Light Shed On US Government's Extraordinary Rendition Programme -- The Guardian

Online project uncovers details of way in which CIA carried out kidnaps and secret detentions following September 11 attacks

A groundbreaking research project has mapped the US government's global kidnap and secret detention programme, shedding unprecedented light on one of the most controversial secret operations of recent years.

The interactive online project – by two British universities and a legal charity – has uncovered new details of the way in which the so-called extraordinary rendition programme operated for years in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and the techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to avoid detection in the face of growing public concern.

The Rendition Project website is intended to serve as a research tool that not only collates all the publicly available data about the programme, but can continue to be updated as further information comes to light.

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WNU Editor: The Rendition Project website is here.

At Least 54 Countries 'Offered Covert Support' For The CIA's Rendition Program

CIA Rendition: More Than A Quarter Of Countries 'Offered Covert Support' -- The Guardian

Report finds at least 54 countries co-operated with global kidnap, detention and torture operation mounted after 9/11 attacks.

The full extent of the CIA's extraordinary rendition programme has been laid bare with the publication of a report showing there is evidence that more than a quarter of the world's governments covertly offered support.

A 213-page report compiled by the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), a New York-based human rights organisation, says that at least 54 countries co-operated with the global kidnap, detention and torture operation that was mounted after 9/11, many of them in Europe.

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More News On The Open Society Justice Initiative's Report On The CIA's Rendition Program

Report Says 54 Countries Helped C.I.A. After 9/11 -- New York Times
Report pulls back veil on CIA's rendition program -- NBC
REPORT: More Than A Quarter Of The World Was Complicit In The CIA's Extraordinary Rendition And Torture Program -- Business Insider
Study finds 54 countries complicit in post 9/11 torture -- Times of Israel
54 countries helped CIA to kidnap, detain and torture – report -- RT
More Than 50 Countries Helped the CIA Outsource Torture -- Danger Room
Report: 54 countries supported CIA rendition -- Salon
America's gulag: Syrian regime was a 'common destination' for CIA rendition -- Al Bawaba
Extraordinary Rendition Report Finds More Than 50 Nations Involved In Global Torture Scheme -- Huffington Post
The 54 Countries That Helped the CIA Kidnap and Torture Terror Suspects -- The Atlantic

WNU Editor: The Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) report is here.

WNU Editor: The 54 countries that aided in post-9/11 renditions are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

This list doesn’t preclude the possibility that additional countries’ involvement may emerge.

It Looks Like The CIA Rendition Program Is Alive And Well Under President Obama

Photo: Charged: Mahdi Hashi, 23, from London, who vanished last summer in Somalia, turned up in a New York courtroom just before Christmas, charged with terrorism offences

Briton, 23, Accused Of Working With Terror Group Secretly Quizzed By CIA For Three Months In African Prison -- Daily Mail

* Mahdi Hashi, who vanished last summer in Somalia, turned up in a New York courtroom just before Christmas, charged with terrorism offences

A British man controversially stripped of his citizenship last year by the Home Secretary has spent three months being interrogated by US agents in an African prison.

Mahdi Hashi, 23, from London, who vanished last summer in Somalia, turned up in a New York courtroom just before Christmas, charged with terrorism offences.

His sudden appearance in America five months after his family had reported him missing has prompted claims that he is the victim of international kidnap or ‘rendition’.

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My Comment: In 2007 then candidate President Obama made the following remark ....

.... In 2007, Obama said in opposition to the practice that renditions and rough interrogations did not "reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people."

I also recall how massive the opposition was to the rendition program. Demonstrations/academia/pundits in the press/most Democrats in Congress/etc. .... they were unanimous in their opposition to the practice of renditions, and made their opinions very clear. But now .... under a different administration .... no one is saying anything.

Is The U.S. Rendition Program Still In Operation?

Photo: Mahdi Hashi is accused of providing support to Al Shabaab

Mahdi Hashi: Lawyer's Question Over 'Rendition' -- BBC

The lawyer for the family of a man whose British citizenship was revoked over allegations of extremism has questioned how he came to appear before a US court.

Mahdi Hashi, 23, of Camden, was stripped of his citizenship in the summer when he went missing in Africa.

He appeared in a New York court on Friday charged with "providing material support" to terrorist group Al Shabaab.

Solicitor Saghir Hussain said the case has "hallmarks of rendition".

The Home Office has refused to comment on the issue saying it was a matter of national security.

Mr Hashi was born in Somalia and moved to London with his family at the age of five. Three years ago he returned to Somalia and got married.

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More News On the Rendition Of Mahdi Hashi

Missing Briton 'kidnapped' by FBI and facing life in prison: Family stunned as man stripped of his UK passport appears in New York court -- Daily Mail
Three Men Appear in Court in Mysterious Terror Case -- New York Times
Three charged for support of al Shabaab terrorist organization -- Examiner
Missing British-Somali man reappears in New York court -- Bureau of Investigative Journalism

My Comment: I guess we will have to wait for the trial to get more information.

Verdict On CIA Agents In Rendition Case Upheld In Italy

Italy Upholds Verdict On CIA Agents In Rendition Case -- BBC

Italy's highest appeals court has upheld guilty verdicts on 23 Americans, all but one of them CIA agents, accused of kidnapping a terror suspect.

Their case related to the abduction of an Egyptian cleric in Milan in 2003.

The man, known as Abu Omar, was allegedly flown to Egypt and tortured.

The Americans were tried in absentia, in the first trial involving extraordinary rendition, the CIA's practice of transferring suspects to countries where torture is permitted.

The practice has been condemned by human rights groups as a violation of international agreements.

The group of Americans - 22 of whom were CIA agents and one an Air Force pilot - are believed to be living in the US and are unlikely to serve their sentences.

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My Comment: I guess these CIA agents are not going to go to Europe for their vacation.

The CIA's Secret Thai Prison

Inside The CIA's Secret Thai Prison -- Asia Times

BANGKOK - The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) appears to have used Bangkok's former Don Muang International Airport as a secret prison to torture a suspected Muslim terrorist, the first time a specific location has ever been described within Thailand, according to statements by the Libyan who was allegedly held there.

It was impossible to immediately confirm Abdel Hakim Belhaj's allegations of being "hung", "injected" and refrigerated with "ice" at the airport, but if true it is the first description of any site in Thailand pinpointed by a prisoner held by the CIA.

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My Comment: The CIA rendition program involved numerous countries .... I am not surprised by this report.

Europe's Human Rights Commissioner Wants Info On CIA 'Black Sites'

Photo: Thomas Hammarberg, the human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe.

Council Of Europe Demands Truth On CIA 'Black Sites' -- CNN

Paris (CNN) -- The human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe urged countries that have hosted secret CIA prisons to come clean Monday, as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches.



Thomas Hammarberg said Poland, Romania and Lithuania were among at least seven countries that hosted "black sites" for "enhanced interrogation" during the "war on terror."



"Darkness still enshrouds those who authorized and ran the black sites on European territories," he said. "The full truth must now be established and guarantees given that such forms of co-operation will never be repeated."



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My Comment: This is going to go nowhere .... especially in the U.S.

Cost Of CIA Rendition Flights Made Public

Gulfstream IV

N.Y. Billing Dispute Reveals Details Of Secret CIA Rendition Flights -- Washington Post

On Aug. 12, 2003, a Gulfstream IV aircraft carrying six passengers took off from Dulles International Airport and flew to Bangkok with fueling stops in Cold Bay, Alaska, and Osaka, Japan.



Before it returned four days later, the plane also touched down in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and Ireland. As these unusual flights happened, U.S. officials took custody of an Indonesian terrorist, Riduan Isamuddin, who had been captured in Thailand and would spend the next three years being shuttled among secret prisons operated by the CIA.



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More News On What The CIA's Rendition Flights Cost

US case lifts lid on secret post Sept. 11 flights -- Wall Street Journal

Mundane bills bring CIA's rendition network into sharper focus -- The Guardian

How US firms profited from torture flights -- The Guardian

Court case lifts lid on secret post 9/11 flights -- Kansas City/AP

Court case lifts lid on secret post 9/11 flights -- Daily Caller/AP



My Comment: $339,228.05 for using a Gulfstream IV aircraft for four days .... not cheap if you ask me.

U.S. Court Rules In Favor Of The CIA And Its Practice Of Renditioning Terror Suspects

Court Sides With C.I.A. On Seizure Of Terror Suspects -- New York Times

WASHINGTON – A sharply divided federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit involving the Central Intelligence Agency’s practice of seizing terrorism suspects and transferring them to other countries for imprisonment and interrogation. The ruling handed a major victory to the Obama administration in its effort to advance a sweeping view of executive secrecy power.

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More News On The US Courts Ruling In Favor Of the CIA And Rendition

9th Circuit throws out CIA torture lawsuit for national security reasons -- L.A. Times
Appeals court lets government halt torture lawsuit -- AP
US court dismisses CIA rendition lawsuit against Boeing unit -- AFP
Ninth Circuit Rules 6-5 to Toss Rendition Case Against Boeing -- Wall Street Journal
9th Circuit Shuts The Door On CIA Torture Cases -- Forbes
CIA rendition: US court throws out torture case, citing state secrets -- Christian Science Monitor
CIA-Rendition Suit Against Boeing Dismissed By Court -- NPR
U.S. appeals court dismisses suit against firm in 'extraordinary rendition' case -- Washington Post
Citing Obama’s State Secrets Privilege, Court Tosses Torture Case -- Threat Level
Boeing subsidiary wins appeal over CIA flights -- Reuters
Ninth Circuit: Feds can use “state secrets privilege” to block lawsuits over terrorist renditions -- Hot Air

Britain Had It's Own Secret Rendition Program

Uncovered: Britain's Secret Rendition Programme -- The Independent

Until now, this country has been guilty only by association in the illegal transfer of prisoners. But the covert rendition of a Moroccan man by MI5 agents suggests that the practice was central to Britain's 'war on terror'.

MI5 was directly involved in the rendition of a Moroccan national, illegally taken from a Belgian prison to work for Britain's Security Services in London, an investigation by The Independent has discovered.

The man, now aged 29 and who cannot be named for his own safety, was secretly transferred from a Brussels jail in April 2004 and then further held and interrogated by senior MI5 officers at a secret base near London.

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My Comment: This is only one case, but one wonders if there are more cases that are waiting to be exposed.

Did CIA Operatives Used Fake British Passports

One source in the Spanish prosecutor?s office says that passports used in an American 'extraordinary rendition' were fake British ones Photo: ALAMY

Fake British Passports 'Used By CIA' In Terror Abductions - Claim -- The Telegraph

The Foreign Office is investigating claims that CIA operatives used fake British passports to carry out the extraordinary rendition of terror suspects in Europe.

The allegations were made by a senior source close to a Spanish inquiry into the role of the US security services in the alleged abduction and torture of a terror suspect, who was taken on a secret flight to a military base in Afghanistan.

The Spanish authorities are considering issuing arrest warrants for 13 CIA agents over the rendition of Jaled el Masri, a Syrian-born suspect who was taken from Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, to Afghanistan where he was allegedly tortured.

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My Comment: I can understand why Israel would want to use fake passports when entering Arab nations that are hostile to Israel .... but U.S. nationals using fake British passports in U.S. friendly Europe .... hmmmm .... something does not compute.

CIA Agents Convicted For Renditions In Italy

Judge Oscar Magi convicted 23 Americans of kidnapping in the 2003 abduction of a Muslim cleric on Wednesday in Milan. Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I.A. Renditions -- New York Times

MILAN — In a landmark ruling on Wednesday, an Italian judge convicted a C.I.A. station chief and 22 other Americans accused of being C.I.A. agents of kidnapping in the 2003 abduction of a Muslim cleric from the streets of Milan.

An enormous symbolic victory for Italian prosecutors, the case was the first ever to contest the United States practice of rendition, in which terrorism suspects are captured in one country and taken for questioning in another, presumably one more open to coercive interrogation techniques. The case was widely seen as an implicit indictment of the measures the Bush administration relied on to fight terrorism.

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More News On These CIA Convictions

Italian Judge Convicts 23 in CIA Kidnap Case -- Voice of America
CIA agents guilty of Italy kidnap -- BBC
Italy convicts 'U.S. agents' in CIA kidnap trial -- CNN
Judge in Italy convicts 23 Americans in 2003 CIA kidnapping of Egyptian cleric -- L.A. Times
Rendition trial ends with Milan CIA chief given eight years -- The Guardian
Italian court sentences 23 CIA agents over rendition flight -- Times Online
US 'disappointed' at Italy verdict in CIA case -- AFP
US disappointed in Italian verdict on CIA kidnap -- AP
U.S. 'disappointed' over rendition convictions -- Reuters
Italy Convicts 23 Americans In CIA Terrorist Kidnapping Case -- Huffington Post
Italy, the CIA and rendition -- Global Post

My Comment: The problem still sits with the reluctance of many countries in Europe to appreciate the fact that some of their citizens are very dangerous. While the mass majority of Europeans are law abiding citizens, there are some who are not. If the CIA should retrieve evidence that indicates terror connections among some of these targets (for example) in Italy, the blow back from this recent trial will be a reluctance among many in the CIA to work with intelligence agencies from Europe .... Italy included.

Does this make us safe .... no. Does this make countries like Italy safe .... no. Should these CIA agents be punished for exceeding their authority .... if that is the case the answer is yes. But where we are right now is in a no mans land in which what was OK 7 years ago .... it is not OK today. As a CIA officer .... this is the worse position to be in. But unfortunately .... this is where our politicians want our intelligence agencies to be in.

Rendition To Continue, But With Better Oversight, U.S. Says

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will continue the Bush administration’s practice of sending terrorism suspects to third countries for detention and interrogation, but pledges to closely monitor their treatment to ensure that they are not tortured, administration officials said Monday.

Human rights advocates condemned the decision, saying that continuing the practice, known as rendition, would still allow the transfer of prisoners to countries with a history of torture. They said that promises from other countries of humane treatment, called “diplomatic assurances,” were no protection against abuse.

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My Comment: The U.S. will continue renditions .... but with better supervision. Huh !?!?!?

This is going to make many of President Obama's more "left wing" supporters outraged.

My take .... plus ca change .... plus c'est le meme chose. Translated .... the more things change .... the more they stay the same.

We Did Hand Over Terror Suspects For Rendition, Hutton Admits

Defence Secretary John Hutton speaking in the House of Commons yesterday

From The Independent:

Defence Secretary sorry for misleading statements made by ministers.

The British Government admitted for the first time yesterday that it had been involved in "extraordinary rendition". The Defence Secretary John Hutton disclosed that terror suspects handed over to the US in Iraq were flown out of the country for interrogation.

Contradicting previous insistences by the Government that it had no played no part in the controversial practice, John Hutton revealed that details of the cases were known by officials and detailed in documents sent to two cabinet members at the time – Home Secretary Charles Clarke and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

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My Comment: Disclosure of this information now reveals how disunited the Labor Party has become . There was always a faction with the Labour Party that has been at war with Tony Blair and his supporters within the Party .... revealing this information is their last gasp at embarrassing Tony Blair.

As for the news that Britain was complicit in the CIA's rendition program .... I am not surprised. A considerable amount of information has already been leaked out .... this is just the official acknowledgment of what has happened and what everyone already knows.

Senate To Investigate CIA's Actions Under Bush

From The L.A. Times:

The 'fact-finding' effort will seek details on secret prisons and interrogation methods -- but will not aim to determine if CIA officials broke laws, legislative sources say.

Reporting from Washington -- The Senate Intelligence Committee is preparing to launch an investigation of the CIA's detention and interrogation programs under President George W. Bush, setting the stage for a sweeping examination of some of most secretive and controversial operations in recent agency history.

The inquiry is aimed at uncovering new information on the origins of the programs as well as scrutinizing how they were executed -- including the conditions at clandestine CIA prison sites and the interrogation regimens used to break Al Qaeda suspects, according to Senate aides familiar with the investigation plans.

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My Comment: The Senators in the oversight committees already know what happened. In fact .... they signed off on it. But because they now want a public hearing in which they will control the gavel and proceedings .... only one phrase can sum up what is going on here.

Witch hunt.

Barack Obama Grants CIA Permission To Retain Right To Carry Out Renditions

Forced removals: hundreds of terrorism suspects have been transferred by the
US to prisons in countries with questionable human rights records

From Times Online:

The banner headlines greeting President Obama’s decision to close the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay and secret CIA prisons may have concealed how he has retained one of the most controversial weapons in the War on Terror.

Under executive orders signed on January 22, the CIA appears to have preserved its authority to carry out renditions – by which hundreds of terrorist suspects have been abducted and transferred to prisons in countries with questionable human rights records such as Egypt, Morocco or Jordan.

The measure, disclosed by the Los Angeles Times yesterday, gives some indication of how Mr Obama’s promise of change may be slower to be realised than once hoped, with the new Administration coming under concerted attack across a range of issues.

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My Comment: War News Updates discussed this extensively last week, the European press has caught on to this story .... but the U.S. Press is still asleep. President Obama has clearly left open the option to rendered hard nosed Al Qaeda and other terrorist leaders to prisons in other countries that the U.S. has close relations with.

Most of these future rendered prisoners will probably go to Afghanistan .... more specifically the Air Force base at Bagram outside of Kabul. They will be kept there until the legal status of Gitmo's detainees can be figured out.

Update: Barack Obama to allow anti-terror rendition to continue -- The Telegraph

Rendition And Imprisonment Of Terror Suspects Will Still Continue Under President Obama

Obama Preserves Renditions As Counter-Terrorism Tool -- L.A. Times

The role of the CIA's controversial prisoner-transfer program may expand, intelligence experts say.

Reporting from Washington -- The CIA's secret prisons are being shuttered. Harsh interrogation techniques are off-limits. And Guantanamo Bay will eventually go back to being a wind-swept naval base on the southeastern corner of Cuba.

But even while dismantling these programs, President Obama left intact an equally controversial counter-terrorism tool.

Under executive orders issued by Obama recently, the CIA still has authority to carry out what are known as renditions, secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperate with the United States.

Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that the rendition program might be poised to play an expanded role going forward because it was the main remaining mechanism -- aside from Predator missile strikes -- for taking suspected terrorists off the street.

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My Comment: Most of these prisoners (when captured) will be held at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan. There are almost 600 there now, and this number is probably going to increase until an alternative to Gitmo has been decided upon.

Questions Remain Over US Renditions

CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Photo AP/Der Spiegel

From Al Jazeera:

Barack Obama's decision to call a halt to elements of the Bush's administration's so-called war on terror was welcomed as a positive move by critics and rights groups.

The Guantanamo Bay prison camp was ordered closed by the US president, in addition a review of the detainees' trials was ordered, along with the closure of CIA secret prisons and an end to harsh interrogations.

But the orders appear to leave loopholes that could allow some controversial US practices to continue.

Extraordinary renditions, where "terror" suspects are apprehended and transferred from countries by US intelligence services or their allies, without going through any legal process, could still be carried out.

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My Comment: If a high value Al Qaeda target (Bin Laden, Zawahiri, etc.) is successfully tracked in another country (one that is not accommodating to U.S. interests).... the President of the United States better sanction his retrieval ASAP. Failure to do so .... or unwillingness to do so ....the American people will never forgive him.