Mon. Dec. 11 2006
Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Extraordinary rendition, the U.S. practice of shipping terrorism suspects to foreign prisons, may be legal in some cases, says the Foreign Affairs Department.

Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act reveal an intense internal discussion among federal agencies about the “implications for Canada” of the controversial U.S. policy.

Legal advice on rendition was prepared by the Justice Department, in consultation with Foreign Affairs, in late 2005 after it became clear American planes linked to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency were passing through Canada.

Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian detained in New York in September 2002, was bundled aboard just such a plane and transferred by U.S. authorities to a grim Damascus cell.

Under torture, Arar gave false confessions to Syrian military intelligence officers about involvement with the al-Qaida terrorist network.

A commission of inquiry concluded that erroneous information the RCMP passed to the United States very likely led to Arar’s removal to Syria.

The second volume of the inquiry report on his case, to be released Tuesday, is almost certain to recommend stricter monitoring of the intelligence community.

Arar says he was a victim of extraordinary rendition, the U.S. policy of sending terrorism suspects to countries, such as Egypt and Syria, known to use brutal methods to extract information.

The United States insists Arar was legally deported — not part of any rendition program.

But the rendition issue, and the possibility U.S. planes may be ferrying terrorism suspects through Canada, clearly generated some hand-wringing in official circles.

Records obtained by The Canadian Press under the access law show a 10-page federal legal opinion on the subject was distributed to several officials on Dec. 2, 2005.

The text of the document was withheld from release under provisions of the law that allow the government to keep legal advice under wraps.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Rodney Moore said although there is no agreed definition, extraordinary rendition is associated with the detention and transfer of suspects into the custody of other states without due process or other legal safeguards.

“Whether any particular rendition is lawful would depend on the facts of each individual case.”

Moore also said Canada strongly believes the fight against terrorism must be carried out in compliance with international law.

He declined to discuss the internal legal opinion…

Read the entire article here.

All Things Considered, June 28, 2006
Bob Grenier was was removed in February from his job leading the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center. A rumor prevalent at the time was that Grenier was sacked for objecting to aggressive interrogation and rendition practices.

But Grenier insists that his departure was actually because of a personality clash. Still, he concedes that he’s “not the most popular guy at the White House.”

His status, Grenier says, is due partly to the fact that he’s made clear that he thinks the United States is wrong to keep high-level detainees such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in limbo. Instead, he says, the government should grant the detainees due process under the law. In a rare interview, Grenier speaks to NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly.

Originally posted Feb.19, 2007
by Bob Drogin and John Goetz
on The News Observer

Accused Pilots Traced to Johnston

CLAYTON – The forecast called for heavy snow on the route home, so the three pilots who had just flown a covert CIA-sponsored so-called “extraordinary rendition” flight were forced to stay an extra night at the Gran Melia Victoria, a luxury hotel overlooking the marina on the Spanish island of Majorca.
In Room 552, the pilot who called himself Capt. James Fairing picked up the phone at 2:28 in the afternoon and dialed his tree-shaded home in a subdivision carved out of rolling pine forests here in Clayton, south of Raleigh. He also called his employer, a Johnston County-based air charter service that has long worked for the CIA…

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Read the full transcript here

…For decades, the United States and other countries have used “renditions” to transport terrorist suspects from the country where they were captured to their home country or to other countries where they can be questioned, held, or brought to justice.

In some situations a terrorist suspect can be extradited according to traditional judicial procedures. But there have long been many other cases where, for some reason, the local government cannot detain or prosecute a suspect, and traditional extradition is not a good option. In those cases the local government can make the sovereign choice to cooperate in a rendition. Such renditions are permissible under international law and are consistent with the responsibilities of those governments to protect their citizens.

Rendition is a vital tool in combating transnational terrorism. Its use is not unique to the United States, or to the current administration. Last year, then Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet recalled that our earlier counterterrorism successes included “the rendition of many dozens of terrorists prior to September 11, 2001″…

Read the full article here.

This is a fascinating site, created by an American veteran and patriot, and hosting writers such as Jimmy Carter, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and dozens of other senators, congressmen, and governors.” Rendition is just one of the topics; this is a great site to educate yourself and get a detailed look at all sides of an issue.

This is a direct link to the page that chronicles a time-line of events, stories and press surrounding “secret prisons”:
Click here to view