Say Anything Blog

Summary of Article:

British foreign secretary David Miliband apologized to the Commons after it was learned that two of the infamous CIA rendition flights, which are used to carry suspected terrorists to be tortured, landed in 2002 on the Island of Diego Garcia, a British territory. Britain previously denied any involvement in the rendition operations.

The Independent of London reported that the British government admitted that the U.S. failed to inform Britain of the flights. Miliband downplayed the incident by stating that there was no deliberate cover up and the U.S. acted “in good faith.” However Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that Washington’s failure to disclose the flights earlier was a “very serious issue.”

CIA Director, Michael Hayden admitted that earlier assertions that there were no landings in British territory were wrong, and Secretary of State Rice called Miliband to apologize for the “administrative error.” It was also found out that one of the detainees was ultimately transferred to Guantanamo.

The disclosure of the rendition flights brought condemnation in the editorials of British newspapers. The Guardian asked, “Why… has the U.S. waited until now to reveal what has been going on? Why have all those official requests from London failed to elicit the truth until now?”

Liberal Democrat Edward Davey called for a full inquiry and said extraordinary rendition was “state-sponsored abduction” and the government must ensure that Britain was not used to “facilitate” it.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0222/p99s01-duts.html
CIA rendition flights landed in British territories | csmonitor.com