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2/2/09

Telegraph: Barack Obama to allow anti-terror rendition to continue to cause outrage at the EU - by Alex Spillius

For the complete report from the Telegraph click on this linkBarack Obama to allow anti-terror rendition to continue to cause outrage at the EU -by Alex Spillius

Despite ordering the closure of Guantanamo and an end to harsh interrogation techniques, the new president has failed to call an end to secret abductions and questioning. In his first few days in office, Mr Obama was lauded for rejecting policies of the George W Bush era, but it has emerged the CIA still has the authority to carry out renditions in which suspects are picked up and often sent to a third country for questioning. The practice caused outrage at the EU, after it was revealed the CIA had used secret prisons in Romania and Poland and airports such as Prestwick in Scotland to conduct up to 1,200 rendition flights. The European Parliament called renditions "an illegal instrument used by the United States".

According to a detailed reading of the executive orders signed by Mr Obama on Jan 22, renditions have not been outlawed, with the new administration deciding it needs to retain some devices in Mr Bush's anti-terror arsenal amid continued threats to US national security. "Obviously you need to preserve some tools – you still have to go after the bad guys," an administration official told the Los Angeles Times.

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