Has anyone else been following this? I was visiting my inlaws in Chicago this weekend and saw a Tribune expose on a really stunningly mismanaged "rendition" -- i.e. kidnapping -- that involved a the abduction of a Muslim cleric granted sanctuary in Italy to Egypt, where he was tortured for two years before being released. The Italian police were able to positively identify all 70(!) American agents involved in the kidnapping and are calling for their extradition. By all accounts, the agents were sloppy -- registering for cars and exorbitantly luxurious hotels sometimes under their own names, sometimes under fake names used inconsistently, and sometimes providing frequent flier ID numbers for their real name while registering under the fake name on their passport. They were tracked down, though, by their cellphones, which they left on at all times and consequently made it possible to isolate and track up to 20 cellphones as they organized the kidnapping and migrated across the country (to a NATO base in southern Italy, from which the cleric was airlifted.)
Goss was apparently livid about the clumsy nature of the operation and has called for an overhaul of the Operations arm of the CIA. When asked why several of the agents -- in mixed-sex pairs -- appear to have taken seaside vacations that cost taxpayers nearly twenty thousand dollars apiece hundreds of miles away from the site of the abduction in the middle of this sensitive op (based, again, on their hotel registrations and cellphone numbers), he replied that it was a hard job and sometimes people needed to relax. Together, apparently.
More disturbing is the fact that the Chicago Tribune, based on this information, was able to discover the cover identities of nearly fifty still-active agents, mainly just by cross-checking public records against hotel addresses given by known false names. They did not -- naturally -- publish these names, but observe that the agency clearly is not aware of the amount of cross-checking made possible by the Internet.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
They made up for their hotel bill by driving around in a Volkswagen Bug.
Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
This is the kind of thing we need. But we need it more popularized. Half the news sources have nothing on it.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Wow, what a clumsy op! Maybe this is the case that will bring extraordinary renditions to greater public awareness.
According to the BBC, extradition is unlikely, though EU-wide warrants have been issued for 22 suspects, presumeably CIA agents. link
Google news had 28 links, I've only read the BBC one.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I read about this back when the story first broke. It's a HUGE embarrassment to the US as it showed concrete proof that we were engaging in <euphemism alert> extraordinary rendition (aka kidnapping) and weren't really paying much heed to the wishes of the nations in which we operated.
Apparently, the only justification we needed was really, really wanting the person.
And then, in more than one case, the person ended up in a country where we knew ahead of time they would be tortured. And visits from our agents happened during their incarceration there (thus making it clear that we knew about the torture). Ultimately making it look like the US was contracting out its torture.
I used to think of Amnesty International as a good way to prod foreign governments into accepting a minimum standard for acceptable behavior vis a vis persons in their custody. I'm chagrined that Amnesty International has work to do in the USA.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Of course, the answer isn't to make the CIA better and more efficient, the answer is to grant it more powers. And how could we ever mistrust the CIA to not use those powers only for good? Everything is running like clockwork in the ol' CIA. Yep. The state says we're only using information for certain things and doing certain things with people? Trust them! Like clockwork, baby.
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
From now on, any time someone accuses the CIA of doing something extraordinary and improbable to prop up a conspiracy theory, we really should wave this story in their face. "You think THESE idiots were capable of doing THAT?"
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
YOu know, I am so proud that we gave George Tenet, head of the CIA during this embarassment, the US Medal of Freedom.
Posted by TheHumanTarget (Member # 7129) on :
Are we embarassed that it happened, or embarassed that we were caught?
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
A little of both I suspect.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
I'm embarrassed that we couldn't even get a multi-billion dollar movie franchise out of the deal. M.I.6 is probably snickering at us. Next time, put the Broccolis in charge.
"You think THESE idiots were capable of doing THAT?"
And that's why Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition
[ December 27, 2005, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
I keep hearing more and more about this, and amazingly it grows ever more disturbing. While I can easily imagine our government doing something like "rendering" foreign nationals while they're in a friendly nation, it strains credulity to think they would possibly be so inhumanly inept at it.
I just don't know what to think.
Posted by TheHumanTarget (Member # 7129) on :
Rakeesh, It's bureacracy in action. Department of Homeland Security pushing for results, CIA attempting to deliver with limited resources and undertrained personnel.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
I'm not saying I don't believe it happened. Clearly something happened. I just stare at this level of incompetence and wonder, "Is there something else going on here?"
I tend to think that anytime moderately intelligent people plan to do something so massively stupid.
Posted by TheHumanTarget (Member # 7129) on :
quote: "Is there something else going on here?"
With the CIA, there's always something else. Unfortunately, this gives everyone the opportunity to begin questioning them on how many other foreign citizens have been...kidnapped...
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
quote: "You think THESE idiots were capable of doing THAT?"
quote:Those guys could screw up a beach party.
Hawk, referring to spooks.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Which is more embarassing? That we kidnap foreign nationals and take them to other countries for torture or that it takes so many of us to do it and to do it so badly?
It's sad that we have proof that our country does what it has so recently denied doing (kidnapping and third-party/place torture). It is definitely something we should shut down immediately.
But who do we have at the CIA nowadays? The Keystone Kops?