Obama's rendition shame

[IndianaGreen]

Obama's rendition shame

Clara Gutteridge
on Aug. 27, 2009

It appeared the US president had stopped the use of CIA prisons, but a closer look reveals the canker at his state's heart remains.

In the wake of newly released CIA memos providing further disturbing details on the CIA's overseas secret prisons programme for "terror suspects", the Obama administration is sneaking some far-reaching and dubious changes to US treatment of terror suspects through the back door.

A 2004 report by the CIA inspector-general, John Helgerson, reveals new details of torture of prisoners in CIA custody, where interrogators went far beyond rules of military engagement in their treatment of prisoners. During interrogations, CIA agents conducted mock executions, stuffed rags in prisoners' mouths and poured water over them until they choked, dragged prisoners along corridors, forced prisoners to inhale smoke until they vomited, and threatened at least one prisoner with a gun and a power drill.

Further documents released today reveal a detailed legal analysis of "standard conditions" inside the CIA secret overseas prisons. CIA lawyers conclude that holding prisoners in isolation for years, with constant blindfolding, leg-shackling, 24-hour fluorescent lights, constant white noise and forcibly shaved hair, was all legal and legitimate. In addition, a CIA memorandum from 2007 shows that the prisons were still active by that date, even though President George Bush had announced in September 2006 that the CIA prison system was empty.

In the wake of these revelations, US attorney general Eric Holder is considering prosecuting those responsible for past abuses in the prison system, and Barack Obama has announced the end of CIA prisons once and for all. At first blush, the president's commitment to reform seems too good to be true: a new FBI-headed unit called the "High Value Interrogation Group" will conduct interrogations of "high value prisoners" that were formerly conducted by the CIA. The new taskforce will include members from the CIA, but will conduct its interrogations using only "non-coercive techniques".

Sounds good, but a closer examination reveals that the canker at the heart of the state has not been excised. Obama's people have also indicated that rendition – the forcible transfer of individuals to the custody of third-party states – will continue to be used by the US on terror suspects. Therefore, this new FBI unit could send people to regimes such as Morocco, Egypt and Syria and conduct interrogations on people being detained indefinitely by these old partners in the secret detention game.

http://www.reprieve.org.uk/2009_08_27claragutteridgecifblog

[MISSDem]

1. There was an article in the NYT some time ago

saying that the Obama administration would continue the Bush rendition policy. I was ridiculed for being upset and was asked if I didn't know the difference between rendition and extraordinary rendition. I guess they thought one of these is ok.

[IndianaGreen]

2. Rendition involves kidnapping, and outsourcing of torture

without regards to international law. Rendition is always wrong, and it saddens me that this is yet another of Bush's practices that are continuing under the Obama Administration.

[MISSDem]

3. I believe that rendition is the out sourcing of interrogation and

extraordinary rendition is out sourcing of interrogation with torture. I may be wrong.

[Becky72]

4. Bush's "rendition policy" included torture

Not Obama's.

[MISSDem]

5. That is if you believe that those countries that the

people are "renditioned" to actually do what they say they will, ie, not use torture.

[Vattel]

6. To quote Scott Horton:

There are two fundamental distinctions between the programs. The extraordinary renditions program involved the operation of long-term detention facilities either by the CIA or by a cooperating host government together with the CIA, in which prisoners were held outside of the criminal justice system and otherwise unaccountable under law for extended periods of time. A central feature of this program was rendition to torture, namely that the prisoner was turned over to cooperating foreign governments with the full understanding that those governments would apply techniques that even the Bush Administration considers to be torture. This practice is a felony under current U.S. law, but was made a centerpiece of Bush counterterrorism policy.

The earlier renditions program regularly involved snatching and removing targets for purposes of bringing them to justice by delivering them to a criminal justice system. It did not involve the operation of long-term detention facilities and it did not involve torture.