Ex-CIA chief: rendition flights put allies in difficult position

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The former head of CIA covert operations in Europe admitted last night that "extraordinary rendition" - the practice of transferring detainees to camps, including Guantánamo Bay, where they risked being tortured - had caused serious problems for America's allies.

Tyler Drumheller, who was in charge of the CIA's clandestine activities in Europe until 2005, said: "We have put our allies in a very difficult position."

He said the way the issue of rendition flights was handled was one of the reasons he resigned. He told BBC2's Mystery Flights programme last night that it affected "the willingness of other countries to work with us - the intelligence services and police forces of other countries we go to".

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Asked where the buck stopped, Mr Drumheller replied: "The president's the president ... I blame the administration for creating an atmosphere of ... rage and vengeance."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2087847,00.html

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1. Related: Shedding light on CIA mystery flights (BBC)

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Wednesday, 23 May 2007, 11:30 GMT 12:30 UK

Shedding light on CIA mystery flights
By Olenka Frenkiel
Reporter for This World: Mystery Flights

"This World: Mystery Flights" pieces together the jigsaw of
"extraordinary rendition", the alleged illegal CIA transfer
of terror suspects to secret prisons in Europe.

In far eastern Poland in 2002 and 2003 strange planes landed
on an old disused runway in a secluded forest - nine times.

The airport was closed but Mariola Przewlocka, the airport
facilities manager, was told to accept the planes or "heads
would roll".

Airport staff were told to stay away while the passengers
were unloaded out of sight. Mini-vans with blacked-out
windows drove them away to a former Soviet military
intelligence base, where it is believed the CIA has its
own zone.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/6681983.stm