[[USA|USA]] | [[President Clinton]] | [[President Bush]] | [[President Obama]] | [[MI-6, Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)]] | [[CIA]] | [[War on Terror]] | [[1990s]] | [[Canada]] | [[Australia]] | [[South Africa]] | [[Afghanistan]] | [[Lithuania]] | [[Morocco]] | [[Poland]] | [[Romania]] | [[Thailand]] | [[Syria]] | [[Egypt]] | [[Jordan]] | [[Guantanamo Bay]] | [[Mamdouh Habib]] # America's Secret Detention and Torture Program ## Overview **Extraordinary rendition** is the U.S. government practice of secretly capturing and transporting suspected terrorists or other individuals to foreign countries for detention and interrogation, often involving torture. The program operated largely in secrecy from the 1990s through the 2000s, becoming significantly expanded after the September 11, 2001 attacks as part of the "War on Terror." This practice represents one of the most controversial aspects of U.S. counterterrorism policy, involving the deliberate circumvention of legal protections, international law, and human rights norms. ## Definition and Legal Framework ### What is "Extraordinary Rendition"? **Rendition** traditionally refers to the legal transfer of a criminal suspect from one jurisdiction to another, typically through formal extradition processes with judicial oversight. **Extraordinary rendition** specifically means: - Transfer of individuals **without** legal extradition proceedings - Often conducted in complete secrecy - Typically to countries known to practice torture - Without oversight from courts or Congress - Designed to evade legal protections the suspect would have in U.S. custody **Key distinction:** "Ordinary" rendition follows legal processes. "Extraordinary" rendition deliberately bypasses all legal safeguards. ### Legal Justifications (Government Position) The U.S. government has offered several justifications: **National security:** - Suspects pose imminent threats requiring immediate action - Normal legal processes too slow or cumbersome in terrorism cases - Information gained prevented attacks and saved lives **Presidential authority:** - Commander-in-Chief powers during wartime - Executive authority over foreign policy - Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed after 9/11 **Outsourcing rationale:** - U.S. didn't directly torture (though provided suspects to countries that did) - "Diplomatic assurances" obtained that detainees wouldn't be tortured (assurances widely recognized as meaningless) - Countries had legitimate interests in questioning suspects ### Legal Violations (Critics' Position) Extraordinary rendition violates multiple legal frameworks: **U.S. Constitution:** - Due process violations (5th Amendment) - Protection against cruel and unusual punishment (8th Amendment) - Habeas corpus rights **International law:** - **UN Convention Against Torture (CAT):** U.S. is signatory; prohibits transferring people to countries where torture is likely - **Geneva Conventions:** Protections for prisoners, even enemy combatants - **Universal Declaration of Human Rights** - **International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights** **U.S. statutes:** - Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act (1998): Specifically prohibits rendition to torture - War Crimes Act - Anti-Torture Statute **The central legal problem:** The entire program was designed to place suspects in a legal "black hole" where no laws applied—not U.S. law, not the laws of the country where captured, not international law. ## Historical Development ### Origins (1990s - Clinton Administration) Extraordinary rendition began in the 1990s under President Clinton, initially focused on capturing specific terrorist suspects abroad. **Early targets:** - Individuals wanted for specific crimes (1993 World Trade Center bombing, embassy attacks) - Transferred to countries where they faced criminal charges - Relatively small scale and focused on known terrorists **CIA role:** The CIA's Counterterrorism Center began developing "snatch and grab" capabilities, creating the infrastructure that would massively expand after 9/11. **Key cases:** - **Talaat Fouad Qassem** (1995): Egyptian militant kidnapped in Croatia, handed to Egypt, reportedly killed - Several suspects rendered to Egypt in late 1990s ### Massive Expansion (2001-2006 - Bush Administration) After 9/11, extraordinary rendition transformed from targeted operation to systematic program. **Scale:** - CIA estimates suggest 100-150 individuals rendered during Bush administration - Human rights organizations estimate the number could be higher (exact numbers remain classified) - Created a global network of secret detention facilities **Cofer Black (CIA Counterterrorism Chief) testimony (2002):** Describing the change after 9/11, Black told Congress: "The gloves came off." This phrase became emblematic of the abandonment of previous restraints. **Presidential authorization:** President Bush signed a classified directive in September 2001 giving the CIA broad authority to capture, detain, and interrogate terrorism suspects anywhere in the world. ### "Black Sites" Network The CIA established secret detention facilities around the world: **Known locations:** - **Poland:** Stare Kiejkuty (confirmed through European Court of Human Rights) - **Romania:** Bucharest area (confirmed through flight records and investigations) - **Lithuania:** Riding club/training center outside Vilnius - **Thailand:** First black site, near Bangkok - **Afghanistan:** "Salt Pit" and other facilities - **Diego Garcia:** British territory in Indian Ocean (alleged) - **Morocco, Egypt, Jordan:** Partner facilities **Conditions:** - Completely outside any legal framework - No ICRC (International Red Cross) access - No communication with families or lawyers - Indefinite detention without charges - "Enhanced interrogation techniques" (torture) ### Partner Countries Countries that participated in rendition program: **Destination countries** (where suspects were sent for interrogation/detention): - **Egypt:** Largest recipient; notorious for torture - **Syria:** Despite being a designated state sponsor of terrorism, received rendered suspects - **Morocco:** Secret detention facilities - **Jordan:** Intelligence services cooperated extensively - **Saudi Arabia** - **Uzbekistan:** Particularly brutal; suspects reportedly boiled alive - **Afghanistan:** Both official and secret CIA facilities **Transit countries** (allowed CIA aircraft to use airspace/airports): - **Poland, Romania, Lithuania:** Hosted black sites - **United Kingdom:** Diego Garcia; also allowed rendition flights through UK bases - **Italy, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Australia:** Allowed rendition flights or participated in captures - **Thailand, Pakistan** **Strategic significance:** The program required cooperation from dozens of countries, making it a truly global system of extrajudicial detention. ## How Extraordinary Rendition Worked ### Capture **Methods:** - **Abductions from foreign countries:** Individuals seized on foreign soil without local legal process - **Transfer from allies:** Countries like Pakistan would capture suspects and hand them to CIA - **Airport seizures:** Suspects grabbed during travel - **"Proxy detention":** Local security forces hold someone until CIA arrives **Example - Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (Abu Omar):** Italian imam kidnapped off the street in Milan in 2003 by CIA operatives working with Italian intelligence. Rendered to Egypt where he was tortured for 4 years before being released without charges. Italian courts later convicted 23 Americans (mostly CIA) in absentia for the kidnapping. ### Transport **CIA fleet:** The CIA operated a fleet of aircraft for rendition operations, registered through front companies: **Shell companies:** - Aero Contractors (North Carolina) - Premier Executive Transport Services - Pegasus Technologies - Keeler and Tate Management **Aircraft:** - Gulfstream jets - Boeing 737s configured for detention/transport - Flight records later exposed through investigative journalism **Flight patterns:** Journalists and researchers tracked flights through: - Airport landing records - Flight tracking data - Eyewitness accounts - Pattern analysis showing routes to known black sites **In-flight conditions:** - Suspects shackled, blindfolded, sedated - "Rectal feeding" and other forms of abuse during transport - Total sensory deprivation - Diapers used for long flights (no bathroom access) ### Interrogation **"Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" (EITs):** The Bush administration authorized techniques that constitute torture under international law: **Physical methods:** - **Waterboarding:** Simulated drowning (used extensively on Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) - **Stress positions:** Forced standing for extended periods, painful positions - **Sleep deprivation:** Up to 180 hours straight - **Walling:** Slamming against walls - **Confinement:** Small boxes, sometimes coffin-sized - **Cold exposure:** Naked in freezing temperatures **Psychological methods:** - Sensory deprivation - Prolonged isolation - Threats against family members - Mock executions - Forced nudity - Humiliation **Medical experiments:** The CIA program included medical and psychological personnel who: - Monitored torture sessions - Advised on techniques to maximize psychological impact - Experimented with different approaches - Violated medical ethics (Hippocratic Oath: "First, do no harm") **Outsourced torture:** When suspects were rendered to partner countries: - Egyptian interrogators used electric shocks, beatings, sexual assault - Syrian interrogators used similar methods (despite Syria being designated enemy) - Uzbek methods included boiling, suffocation, rape **The fiction of "diplomatic assurances":** The U.S. obtained written assurances from receiving countries that suspects wouldn't be tortured. These were transparently false—the entire purpose of sending suspects to these countries was precisely because they would use methods the U.S. couldn't openly employ. ## Notable Cases ### Khalid El-Masri (Mistaken Identity) **Background:** German citizen of Lebanese descent. **What happened:** - Detained at Serbian-Macedonian border (December 2003) - Macedonian authorities held him for 23 days - Rendered to CIA black site in Afghanistan ("Salt Pit") - Held for 5 months in brutal conditions - Beaten, sodomized, forcibly fed through rectum - Eventually realized he was **the wrong person** (confused with a different Khalid Al-Masri) - Dumped on a road in Albania, flown to Germany **Aftermath:** - German prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 13 CIA operatives - El-Masri's case reached European Court of Human Rights, which ruled his treatment violated international law - U.S. courts dismissed his lawsuit citing "state secrets privilege" - Never received apology or compensation from U.S. government - Case became emblematic of the program's lack of accountability **Quote from Condoleezza Rice (then National Security Advisor):** Admitted the mistake to German Chancellor but opposed public acknowledgment or compensation. ### Maher Arar (Canadian Citizen) **Background:** Canadian-Syrian engineer, traveling through JFK Airport. **What happened (2002):** - Detained by U.S. authorities during layover in New York - Despite being Canadian citizen, rendered to Syria (via Jordan) - Held in Syria for one year - Tortured extensively (beaten with cables, confined in grave-sized cell) - Eventually released; Syria found no terrorism connections **Aftermath:** - Canadian government conducted official inquiry (Arar Commission) - Canada officially apologized and paid Arar $10.5 million - U.S. has never apologized - U.S. maintains Arar on no-fly list despite no charges - Canadian inquiry found absolutely no evidence of terrorism connections - Arar's case led to widespread Canadian outrage at U.S. actions **Geopolitical significance:** The rendition of a Western ally's citizen to a state sponsor of terrorism for torture demonstrated the program's complete disregard for normal diplomatic relationships. ### Abu Zubaydah (Waterboarded 83 Times) **Background:** Saudi-born Palestinian suspected of being high-level Al-Qaeda operative. **Capture and treatment (2002):** - Captured in Pakistan - Rendered to Thailand black site - Became first subject of "enhanced interrogation" - Waterboarded 83 times in August 2002 - Sleep deprived for extended periods - Confined in boxes - Subjected to near-continuous torture for years **The problem:** - Later determined he was NOT a high-level Al-Qaeda member - Already cooperating with interrogators before torture began - Information obtained through torture proved unreliable - Interrogators who used standard techniques got useful information; EITs produced false confessions - Held at Guantanamo since 2006, never charged with any crime **Legal significance:** - His case is central to debates about torture's effectiveness - CIA destroyed videotapes of his interrogation (potential evidence destruction) - Continues to be detained despite acknowledgment he's not who they thought ### Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) **Background:** Actual high-level Al-Qaeda operative, 9/11 mastermind. **Treatment:** - Captured in Pakistan (2003) - Rendered to black sites - Waterboarded 183 times - Subjected to full range of EITs - Held in black sites for 3+ years before transfer to Guantanamo **Legal complications:** - Confessions obtained through torture inadmissible in court - Military commission proceedings repeatedly delayed - As of 2026, still hasn't been tried (over 20 years after capture) - Death penalty sought but torture has complicated prosecution - Became argument for critics: torture not only immoral but counterproductive legally **The irony:** The one person who actually was what the program claimed to target has been impossible to prosecute because of the torture used against him. ### Binyam Mohamed (British Resident) **Background:** Ethiopian national, British resident. **Treatment (2002-2009):** - Captured in Pakistan - Rendered to Morocco where tortured for 18 months (genitals cut with scalpel) - Rendered to Afghanistan black site - Finally sent to Guantanamo (2004) - Released to UK (2009) without charges **Significance:** - British courts found UK intelligence services complicit in his torture - Documents revealed extent of UK-U.S. cooperation in rendition - Led to investigations of British intelligence agencies - Settled with UK government for undisclosed amount ## Congressional and Public Exposure ### Initial Secrecy The extraordinary rendition program operated in near-complete secrecy for years: **Classification:** - Presidential directives classified - Congressional briefings limited to "Gang of Eight" (select leadership) - Operational details closely held within CIA - No public acknowledgment of black sites or torture **Media complicity:** Major media outlets knew elements of the program but delayed reporting at government request, claiming national security concerns. ### Breaking Stories **Dana Priest, Washington Post (2005):** First reported existence of CIA black sites in Eastern Europe, winning Pulitzer Prize. **New York Times and other outlets:** Gradually exposed scope of program through leaked documents, flight tracking, and source interviews. **European Parliament investigations (2006-2007):** Documented complicity of European governments, particularly Poland, Romania, Lithuania. ### Senate Intelligence Committee Report (2014) **The "Torture Report":** Senate Intelligence Committee (led by Senator Dianne Feinstein) conducted exhaustive investigation of CIA detention and interrogation program. **Findings (from 500-page executive summary; full 6,700-page report remains classified):** **Ineffectiveness:** - Torture did NOT produce unique, actionable intelligence - Information that led to bin Laden came from standard interrogation, not EITs - Suspects provided false information under torture - Standard interrogation techniques were more effective **Misrepresentation:** - CIA systematically lied to Congress about program - Misrepresented effectiveness to justify continuation - Provided false information to DOJ for legal opinions - Concealed details from White House officials **Brutality beyond authorization:** - Interrogators went beyond even the authorized techniques - Medical personnel complicit in torture - Detainees subjected to "rectal feeding" and "rectal rehydration" - Mock executions, threats to family members - Sleep deprivation beyond limits **Management failures:** - Inadequate training for interrogators - No consistent oversight - Poor record-keeping - Destruction of evidence (videotapes) **CIA Response:** The CIA fought the report's release and issued a rebuttal claiming the report was flawed, biased, and endangered national security. Former CIA officials continue to defend the program. **Consequences:** Despite damning findings, no CIA personnel were prosecuted. President Obama stated "we need to look forward as opposed to looking backward." ## Geopolitical and Strategic Implications ### International Law Violations **U.S. hypocrisy:** The program fundamentally undermined U.S. credibility on human rights: - State Department issues annual human rights reports criticizing other countries for practices the U.S. itself was conducting - U.S. lost moral authority to criticize torture by authoritarian regimes - Weakened international legal norms against torture **Precedent:** By claiming exceptional circumstances justify torture, the U.S. provided authoritarian regimes with justification for their own practices: - Russia cited U.S. rendition program when defending actions in Chechnya - China referenced Guantanamo when criticized for Xinjiang detention camps - Egypt justified torture of domestic opposition citing U.S. example ### European Complicity **Damage to transatlantic relations:** Discovery that European democracies hosted black sites and participated in renditions damaged U.S.-European relations. **National investigations:** - **Poland:** Found guilty by European Court of Human Rights for hosting black site - **Italy:** 23 Americans convicted in absentia for Abu Omar kidnapping - **Germany:** Issued arrest warrants for CIA operatives in El-Masri case - **Sweden:** Apologized and compensated Ahmed Agiza, rendered to Egypt **Political consequences:** - Government officials involved faced domestic political backlash - Some countries banned U.S. rendition flights from using airspace - Strengthened EU human rights protections and oversight ### Muslim World Relations **Recruitment tool for extremists:** The torture and rendition program became a powerful propaganda tool for terrorist organizations: - Abu Ghraib photos and Guantanamo became symbols of U.S. oppression - Validated Al-Qaeda narrative of West's war on Islam - Former detainees (even innocent ones) sometimes became radicalized by experience - Damaged moderate Muslim leaders who had supported U.S. **Regional instability:** Cooperation with brutal regimes (Egypt, Syria, Uzbekistan) undermined U.S. promotion of democracy and human rights in Muslim-majority countries. ### Domestic Impact **Erosion of norms:** Once torture became policy (even if called something else), it: - Normalized extreme measures in national security debates - Created precedent for future administrations - Damaged civil liberties protections domestically - Expanded executive power claims **State secrets privilege:** Courts consistently dismissed lawsuits by rendition victims citing "state secrets," creating accountability gap. ## Legal and Political Accountability ### Criminal Prosecutions: None **Despite clear evidence of:**. - Torture (war crime under international law) - Kidnapping (across international borders) - Conspiracy - False imprisonment **No prosecutions of:** - CIA interrogators - CIA officials who authorized techniques - Justice Department lawyers who provided legal cover - Bush administration officials who established program **Attorney General Eric Holder (2012):** Closed investigations without charges, stating prosecution not warranted despite acknowledging abuses occurred. **The message:** U.S. officials can violate international law with impunity if done in national security context. ### Civil Lawsuits: Blocked Victims attempted to sue in U.S. courts but virtually all cases dismissed: **State secrets privilege:** Government invoked this privilege, claiming even litigating the cases would reveal classified information. **Catch-22:** - Victims couldn't prove details because information classified - Courts accepted government's secrecy claims - No discovery process allowed - Effectively placed program beyond legal challenge **Examples:** - Khaled El-Masri: Case dismissed - Maher Arar: Case dismissed - Binyam Mohamed: Case dismissed **Exception - European courts:** European Court of Human Rights ruled against Poland and Macedonia in rendition cases, but these judgments don't bind the U.S. ### Congressional Oversight: Inadequate **Limited briefings:** Only "Gang of Eight" (congressional leadership) briefed on program, and even they weren't given full details. **No advance authorization:** Congress didn't vote to authorize extraordinary rendition; happened through executive action alone. **Post-facto investigation:** Senate Intelligence Committee report came years after program ended, and even then full report remains classified. ### Presidential Positions **Bush (2001-2009):** - Authorized and defended program - Publicly admitted approving waterboarding - Claimed program saved lives (disputed by Senate report) - No apologies or acknowledgment of wrongdoing **Obama (2009-2017):** - Ended "enhanced interrogation" by executive order (2009) - Closed some black sites (but kept Guantanamo open) - Opposed prosecution: "look forward, not backward" - Continued rendition but with claimed assurances against torture - Fought release of Senate torture report **Trump (2017-2021):** - During campaign, stated he would "bring back waterboarding and a hell of a lot worse" - As president, deterred from reinstating by Defense Secretary Mattis - Appointed CIA Director Gina Haspel, who supervised black site and destroyed torture tapes **Biden (2021-present):** - No efforts to prosecute torturers - Released some Guantanamo detainees - No fundamental accountability measures ## Current Status and Legacy ### Continuing Detention **Guantanamo Bay:** As of 2026, approximately 30 detainees remain at Guantanamo, many never charged with crimes. Some were subjected to extraordinary rendition before arriving there. **Legal limbo:** - Held for 20+ years without trial - Torture makes prosecution difficult - Too "dangerous" to release (according to government) - Too contaminated by torture to prosecute ### Policy Changes **Formal prohibition:** Obama's 2009 executive order limits interrogation to techniques in Army Field Manual (which prohibits torture). **However:** - Executive orders can be rescinded by future presidents - No statutory prohibition on extraordinary rendition - CIA still maintains capability - No structural reforms to prevent recurrence ### Unresolved Questions **Full scope unknown:** - Exact number of people rendered still classified - Some detainees may still be in foreign custody - Black sites may have operated in countries still undisclosed - Full Senate report (6,700 pages) remains classified **"Ghost prisoners":** Some individuals were rendered and possibly died in custody with no public accounting. ### Academic and Historical Assessment **Consensus among interrogation experts:** Torture is ineffective for intelligence gathering and produces false confessions to stop the pain. **Historical parallel:** The U.S. prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American POWs in WWII. Techniques used in extraordinary rendition program were based on SERE training (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) designed to prepare U.S. soldiers for torture if captured—not as interrogation techniques. ## Conclusion: The Price of Secrecy Extraordinary rendition represents one of the darkest chapters in recent U.S. history, revealing how national security claims can be used to circumvent legal restraints, violate human rights, and escape accountability. **The program demonstrates:** **1. Systematic lawbreaking:** Deliberate, organized violation of domestic and international law by the world's leading democracy. **2. Ineffectiveness:** Despite claims, torture produced unreliable intelligence and undermined legitimate prosecutions. **3. Moral corruption:** Physicians, psychologists, and lawyers perverted their professions to enable torture. **4. Impunity:** No meaningful accountability for clear violations of law. **5. Precedent:** Normalized extraordinary executive power claims and erosion of civil liberties. **6. Geopolitical damage:** Undermined U.S. credibility, damaged alliances, strengthened enemies. The extraordinary rendition program shows how fear, secrecy, and unchecked executive power can lead democracies to abandon fundamental principles. The lack of accountability ensures the question isn't whether such abuses could happen again, but when. As long as the full truth remains classified and those responsible face no consequences, the program's legacy continues to corrupt both American democracy and the international legal order. https://boingboing.net/2017/04/07/boeing-boeing.html