Yes, these renditions are atrocious, but, as the paragraphs fingered by Matt point out, by Obama standards, they’re child’s play:
Renditions are taking on renewed significance because the administration and Congress have not reached agreement on a consistent legal pathway for apprehending terrorism suspects overseas and bringing them to justice.
Congress has thwarted President Obama’s pledge to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and has created barriers against trying al-Qaeda suspects in civilian courts, including new restrictions in a defense authorization bill passed last month. The White House, meanwhile, has resisted lawmakers’ efforts to hold suspects in military custody and try them before military commissions.
The impasse and lack of detention options, critics say, have led to a de facto policy under which the administration finds it easier to kill terrorism suspects, a key reason for the surge of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Renditions, though controversial and complex, represent one of the few alternatives.
Afterwords
When it first entered office, the Obama Administration actually had a few civil libertarians in its ranks. The hysterical public reaction to the idea of actually enforcing the U.S. Constitution, a reaction for which I hold the American people and the Democratic Party almost as guilty as the Republicans, led to a bit of moral panic in the Administration. The libertarians were all forced out, and the “sensible” people took over. The President himself has a strong fondness for secrecy, and soon found himself (that is, chose) working hand in glove with the CIA. President Obama is doing more damage to our civil liberties than Joe McCarthy ever did.
