Panetta Confirmation Hearing: Obama's CIA Pick Says No More "Extraordinary Rendition"

[ProSense]

Panetta Confirmation Hearing: Obama's CIA Pick Says No More "Extraordinary Rendition"

WASHINGTON — CIA Director nominee Leon Panetta assured senators Thursday that the Obama administration will not send prisoners to countries for torture or other treatment that violates U.S. values as he contended had occurred during the Bush presidency.

Panetta, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, later acknowledged that he does not know specifically what happened in the secret program allowing so-called "extraordinary rendition." CIA Director Michael Hayden has said that the Bush administration moved secret prisoners between countries for interrogation and incarceration, separate from the judicial system, fewer than 100 times.

Panetta said that President Barack Obama forbids what Panetta called "that kind of extraordinary rendition _ when we send someone for the purpose of torture or actions by another country that violate our human values."

"What happened I can't tell you specifically," he said later, "but clearly steps were taken that prompted this president to say those things ought not to happen again."

Rendition has been used by U.S. presidents for several decades; Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said the Clinton administration used it 80 times. However, Panetta said the difference is whether the prisoner is transferred to another government for prosecution in its judicial system or for secret interrogations that may lead to torture.

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[peace13]

1. Read it and weep folks.

Finally ...finally

[Optical.Catalyst]

2. Panetta is an excellent administrator and a team player

He is just the leader we need to put the intelligence community back to doing the business of the Government, not a political party.

[pleah]

3. Good to know.

K&R