National Sec-recy | Ari Berman: "The CIA has finally admitted to sending alleged terrorists to despotic countries for interrogation in a practice known as 'rendition.' According to a senior official quoted in Sunday's New York Times, the Bush Administration gave the CIA broad authority through a still-classified directive days after September 11. More importantly--and unmentioned in the Times piece--is how the Administration is invoking a little-known state secrets privilege to quash legal challenges to its controversial rendition policy.

The most high-profile example is that of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was snatched from New York's JFK Airport, transferred to Syria and tortured by Syrian intelligence officials, who held him for ten months. Released to Canadian authorities in October 2003 after Syria found no links to terrorism, Arar and the Center for Constitutional Rights are suing the US government for transferring Arar to a country where they knew he would be tortured. Now the Bush Administration is trying to dismiss the case by invoking the state secrets clause. (See David Cole's 'Accounting for Torture' for more on Arar.)"

(Via The Nation Weblogs.)