Sunday, February 1, 2009

Rendition And Imprisonment Of Terror Suspects Will Still Continue Under President Obama

Obama Preserves Renditions As Counter-Terrorism Tool -- L.A. Times

The role of the CIA's controversial prisoner-transfer program may expand, intelligence experts say.

Reporting from Washington -- The CIA's secret prisons are being shuttered. Harsh interrogation techniques are off-limits. And Guantanamo Bay will eventually go back to being a wind-swept naval base on the southeastern corner of Cuba.

But even while dismantling these programs, President Obama left intact an equally controversial counter-terrorism tool.

Under executive orders issued by Obama recently, the CIA still has authority to carry out what are known as renditions, secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperate with the United States.

Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that the rendition program might be poised to play an expanded role going forward because it was the main remaining mechanism -- aside from Predator missile strikes -- for taking suspected terrorists off the street.

Read more ....

My Comment: Most of these prisoners (when captured) will be held at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan. There are almost 600 there now, and this number is probably going to increase until an alternative to Gitmo has been decided upon.

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