Bill Sykes' - In Retrospect
IV.
(December 2006)
Bill Sykes
looks back in retrospect at material which has been published
in previous editions of "View from America",
in an attempt to determine whether the subject matter
written then is still applicable in today’s world.
These observations have been extracted from Bill
Sykes Newsletter “View from America”.
April
2005 Edition.
Article #4E.
Subject: Rendition: Anti-terrorism abduction and torture.
Dictionary meaning: Rendering, which comes from the word
rend - to tear apart or split with violence.
How on earth do people come up with this stuff - perhaps
they have read the book by author Len Deighton, "The Ipcress File", published in 1962, or better
still have seen the film starring actor Michael Caine.
In the not too distant past I wrote, or intended to write,
a paragraph about the usage by the American Central Intelligence
Agency of unidentified executive type jet aircraft, such
as Gulfstream G5's, in the abduction and transfer to
countries known to use torture as a method of extracting
information from persons suspected of being associated
with terrorist associations and are, or have been, planning
terrorist acts against America and Americans.
Anyway the media have recently reported that similar
aircraft have carried out covert missions, one of which
was identified as being in Stockholm, Sweden, where two
Egyptians were arrested by Swedish police and taken to
an airport where they were transferred to an awaiting
unmarked aircraft, identified only by its "N" tail
registration as an American aircraft, which had a crew wearing black masks and
black gloves.
Talk about cloak and dagger stuff.
The general opinion is that this is not an isolated
incident and that many people who have been abducted
and flown to a country, or countries, known for using
torture as a method of interrogation have met their death
during their incarceration.
The media in recent days have defined modern day torture
as subjecting a person or persons who are alleged terrorists,
or belonging to terrorist groups, to be shackled and
segregated in solitary confinement soundproof cells and
subjected to inhumane torture.
Methods of torture have been described as the application
of extreme changes in thermal conditions of heat and
cold, immersion under water to a point of drowning, being
deprived of oxygen to a point of suffocation, being subjected
to long periods of extremely loud noise - enough to perforate
ear drums, injection of narcotics substances such as
sodium pentathol which is known as the truth serum drug,
deprivation of sleep, restriction of food and liquids,
being subjected to jolts from high voltage electrical
devices, physical beatings without leaving evidence of
bruising or broken bones.
Apparently some suspects have been sedated and held prisoner
for several months at a time.
A person by the name of Michael Shawyer, who was credited
with setting up the rendition program, was asked in an
interview as to whether he agreed that physical and mental
torture was acceptable in a civilized society, and he
responded by saying that you do the best you can - whatever
that means.
Reports say that since the institution of the rendition
program, there have been a total of some 600 flights
going to as many as 40 different foreign countries. Another
report indicates that records show aircraft based in
North Carolina, (which usually fly to Washington Dulles
Airport before heading overseas), have made at least
30 trips to Jordan, 19 to Afghanistan, 17 to Morocco,
and 16 to Iraq. It has also been reported that other
stops have been made in Egypt, Libya, Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, to name but a few.
Public records showed that the aircraft were registered
as being owned by Premiere Executive Transport, or Premiere
Executive Airlines, but investigations showed that neither
of these airlines existed. Is this is a case of sloppy
intelligence operations as aviation records can easily
be found on the web identifying aircraft by their tail
numbers and aircraft flight plans are readily available
from similar sources?
Accusations have been made that British intelligence
have also been involved in similar incidents, as an unmarked
B737 aircraft with tail number N313P, (or N379P), had
been indicated to have landed in Scotland for refueling.
What a terrible world of violence we live in, which has
been aptly described as a, "primitive society engaged in tribal warfare".
Amnesty International apparently have estimated that
as many as 75% of the governments throughout the world
have employed various methods of torture to extract information
from people suspected of being involved in terrorist
actions.
Certain nations have also used similar methods of flying
suspects to countries that use torture tactics in order
to obtain information.
Then of course we must remember the medieval torture
chambers of the past, which were not so sophisticated
as the torture chambers said to be in existence in the
modern day world. One well-known medieval torture consisted
of placing an individual upon a rack and stretching that
person’s body to a point where
arms and legs were pulled out of their sockets.
Can we say that mankind is following in the footsteps
of the degrading paths of their forefathers and have
invented much more modern ways of torturing people.
What’s next in this brave new world, the "rendition" of local
law abiding citizens who are suspected of sedition or unpatriotic acts and are
given the same treatment under the questionable boundaries of the patriot act?
The question then remains as to whether the end justifies
the means - if many lives are at risk is it acceptable
to apply torture in order to obtain information that
may save the many lives at risk?
I have mixed feelings on the subject - but if I was placed
in a position that the lives of my loved ones, close
friends, or thousands of innocent civilians, could be
saved by the extraction of information by whatever means
available, I’m sure that my opinion would be very different, but even so I would have
to struggle with my conscience in order to accept and condone that such actions
would have to be performed in the interests of saving many human lives.
Note: To view the complete April 2005
edition of “View from America” please click HERE.
Disclaimer
Some of the information gathered for this news letter
has been gleaned from American and International media
sources, (including the Internet), and as such is quoted
as accurately as possible. I try to obtain confirmation
on each subject from several outlets, so the text is
a mixture of composite news items and personal comments
and therefore the reader must make his/her own judgment
as to the reliability and degree of accuracy of the subjects
discussed.
We
welcome feedback about any of the contents of these articles.
Please send all correspondence to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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