MPs accuse Washington of lying over rendition flights

By David Connett
Sunday, 6 July 2008 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-accuse-washington-of-lying-over-rendition-flights-860864.html
http://tinyurl.com/6hqds8

MPs are to launch an investigation into US activities on Diego Garcia after
accusing Washington of lying about extraordinary rendition flights from the
British-controlled island in the Indian Ocean. They described false
assurances given by the US about its use of Diego Garcia for the
controversial flights as "deplorable".

Following one of the strongest British condemnations of the US rendition
policy, by which terror suspects are sent overseas for interrogation, the
influential Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) plans to scrutinise Whitehall's
supervision of US activities on Diego Garcia, including all flights and
ships serviced from there.

The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, was forced to apologise to the
Commons in February after it was revealed that two US "extraordinary
rendition" flights had landed on UK territory in 2002. Britain had
previously been told that no such flights had passed through its territory.

His apology came after the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, admitted
that two suspects had been on flights to Guantanamo Bay and Morocco in 2002
that had stopped to refuel on Diego Garcia. In a report published today,
the MPs conclude that it is "deplorable that previous US assurances about
rendition flights have turned out to be false. The failure of the US
administration to tell the truth resulted in the UK government
inadvertently misleading our select committee and the House of Commons."

Andy Tyrie, a Tory MP, welcomed the report last night. Mr Tyrie, chair of
the parliamentary group on extraordinary rendition, said: "In October 2007,
I started asking questions about Diego Garcia. I was very concerned that
Britain and British territory could have become complicit in America's
programme of extraordinary rendition, whereby people have been kidnapped
around the world and taken to places where they may be maltreated or
tortured. The Foreign Secretary persistently gave me the brush-off. He said
we could rely on US assurances. My allegations were correct. The Foreign
Secretary's brush-off was not just misplaced, it was a disgrace."

He continued: "We must get to the bottom of British involvement in
rendition. The Foreign Secretary's latest attempt to do so is wholly
inadequate. We must have confidence that the US has not been using our
airports to service their planes to or from a rendition, but the Foreign
Secretary has refused to even ask the Americans if this is the case. This
is yet another issue on which a weak and indecisive Prime Minister should
have given leadership."

The FAC said the Government should also do more to support exiled
inhabitants who were forcibly removed from Diego Garcia and adjoining
islands when the US established a military base there.

In addition, it called for a public inquiry into allegations of official
corruption in the Turks and Caicos islands, a British overseas territory in
the Caribbean. MPs who visited the islands described the allegations
as "very serious", saying they had experienced "a palpable climate of fear"
while there, and warning they would take action against anyone who tried to
intimidate witnesses who had spoken to them.

They also demanded evidence from the Foreign Office that it was fully
investigating allegations of corruption in Bermuda and Anguilla, accusing
the Foreign Office of being "too hands-off" in its administration of
overseas territories.
-- 
Facts are sacred ... but comment is free

In message <_J0ck.21579$E41.10099@text.news.virginmedia.com>, Robin T 
Cox  writes
>MPs accuse Washington of lying over rendition flights
>
>By David Connett
>Sunday, 6 July 2008
>
>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-accuse-washington-of-l
>ying-over-rendition-flights-860864.html
>http://tinyurl.com/6hqds8
>
>MPs are to launch an investigation into US activities on Diego Garcia after
>accusing Washington of lying about extraordinary rendition flights from the
>British-controlled island in the Indian Ocean. They described false
>assurances given by the US about its use of Diego Garcia for the
>controversial flights as "deplorable".

The vultures are circling....

I wonder how much longer the US foray into Iraq and Afghanistan will 
last.

-- 
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
\/\/\/\/\ Chris Hills  Staffs  England     /\/\/\/\/
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Robin T Cox"  wrote ...

> MPs accuse Washington of lying over rendition flights
>
> By David Connett
> Sunday, 6 July 2008
>
>
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-accuse-washington-of-lying
-over-rendition-flights-860864.html
> http://tinyurl.com/6hqds8
>
> MPs are to launch an investigation into US activities on Diego Garcia
after
> accusing Washington of lying about extraordinary rendition flights from
the
> British-controlled island in the Indian Ocean. They described false
> assurances given by the US about its use of Diego Garcia for the
> controversial flights as "deplorable".
:
> The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, was forced to apologise to the
> Commons in February after it was revealed that two US "extraordinary
> rendition" flights had landed on UK territory in 2002. Britain had
> previously been told that no such flights had passed through its
territory.

America lies to everyone. Its enemies, its allies, and its own citizens.
Time after time people foolishly believe and trust America and they end up
suffering for it. Much of the world has woken up to what a lying and
untrustworthy nation America is but there are still those in denial who
won't see it, even when the evidence is staring them in the face.