Continuing my
mini-series illustrating the historical context of the Bush presidency, this weeks issue takes a look at the practice of extraordinary rendition -- or simply "rendition" just like the
bad movie from 2007 -- whereby suspected enemy combatants or terrorists are taken to an "ally" country where they can be held or questioned by entities not under authority of US laws.
Sometimes those allies are erstwhile "friends" of the US such as Egypt or Saudi Arabia. The practice is controversial, as it
may or
may not violate treaties we have with other democratic allies. But it has been a useful tool in the pursuit of terrorists. And Obama is
keeping this tool handy.
Mainstream media reports often (purposely I believe) provide the impression that this practice originated with George W. Bush and is unique to his presidency.
That's incorrect. The record is
clearly different and as
this article states, the program "began under Bill Clinton, the last Democratic president, in the early 1990s."
Could these targets have been pursued and prosecuted under the law enforcement model put forth by Barack Obama during his run for president? Perhaps, but it is clear that he is presently prepared to carry on the tradition of the last two presidents and keep his options open.
