Extraordinary Rendition, How The U.S Government Sanctions Torture & Assassinations

The U.S Government has set up Black Sites around the globe to carry-out Extraordinary Rendition

Extraordinary Rendition (XR), also called Rendition, is a secretive process of sending a person to another country for interrogation. The process is used by the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A) and other U.S. government agencies, which have tortured and killed innocent people worldwide. As a result of its rendition program, the United States has also tortured its own citizens in foreign countries.

The C.I.A. sends its subjects through diplomatic channels or poses as foreign diplomats on official government business. Once in a third country, the suspected terrorists are tortured at agency facilities or on-site at the diplomatic facility. Other times, the subjects are tortured at secret prisons inside the country (Black Sites), where they were initially detained. According to Human Rights Watch, this practice has resulted in ‘torture that exceeds all limits of humanity.’

One of the most infamous cases of XR is the capture and detention of fighters in Afghanistan and transferred to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after the attack of 9/11. The U.S. captured foreign fighters were held at the base for indefinite detention without charge or trial.

In 1986, the U.S Congress established a military base at Guantanamo Bay to house prisoners from Nicaragua’s war against the country’s government. Over the years, Guantanamo Bay gained notoriety as a place where unjust imprisonment prevailed over justice. Today, more than 37 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay; many have been imprisoned for over a decade without trial or evidence of wrongdoing. Many have been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment while imprisoned and denied fundamental human rights.

Another arsenal in the U.S XR program is the usage of drones to assassinate suspected targets on foreign soil. It is important to note the U.S Congress has yet to formally approve the CIA.’s drone program – launched without its approval- which targets suspected terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere without sending them to Guantanamo.

Although it began operations more than ten years ago, the CIA has yet to declassify how it executes drone flights or present all of Congress with information regarding its targets or safeguards against collateral damage and targeting innocent civilians.

Extraordinary Rendition involves violating international law and sending many innocent people to third countries for interrogation under conditions that violate international law. In addition, it involves holding prisoners indefinitely without charge or trial at Guantanamo Bay without obtaining congressional approval. There’s room for improvement in protecting national security and human rights when dealing with suspects abroad- especially when using methods that violate international law.