Peter,
After researching the history of extraordinary rendition, I found that it was a very different animal under Clinton.
It was targeted against a handful of terrorists hiding out abroad, against whom there were outstanding US or foreign arrest warrants. Under rendition, the CIA would capture them and take them either to the United States or their home countries to stand trial.
The transfer of individual prisoners required a formal inter-agency review, including officials from the National Security Council and selected members of Congress.
Ramzi Youssef, for example, was grabbed by FBI agents in Pakistan in 1995 and brought to America for trial and imprisonment under the rendition program.
The French used a similar rendition policy to capture Carlos the Jackal and take him to France for trial and imprisonment.
The Israelis did likewise with Adolph Eichmann, trying and condemning him in Israel.
It was only after 9/11 that President Bush totally redefined the rendition program. Now, there was no longer any oversight. The only requirement for grabbing and transporting a foreign national was the President's own citation that he was an "illegal enemy combatant." In addition, the suspects were no longer being "rendered" to the US or another country for trial, but were being sent to countries like Egypt, Uzbekistan, and Syria for interrogation - countries with a long tradition of using harsh methods, and commonly outright torture, in their interrogations.
I hope the additional information clarifies an issue that has been inadequately reported in the press of late. It would be misleading to claim merely that rendition was started under Clinton and the Bush
program is only a continuation of it without enumerating the profound differences between the old
and new rendition programs.
The only commonality between rendition before 9/11 and afterward is the name.
NOTE: One very good source for the information on how rendition worked under Clinton is Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's special unit on Osama bin Laden and one of the CIA architects of the original rendition program. He has spoken publicly about the program on a number of news shows and transcripts are readily available.
- n2nz
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