From the Associated Press a few days ago:
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Two Yemeni men say they were held in solitary confinement in secret, underground U.S. detention facilities in an unknown country and interrogated by masked men for more than 18 months without being charged or allowed any contact with the outside world, Amnesty International charged Wednesday.
Amnesty and human rights lawyers argued that the report added to long-standing claims that the United States has held "secret detainees" in its war on terror...
Navy Lt. Commander Flex Plexico, noting that it was difficult to respond to a report he hasn't seen said, "We have said many times that the Department of Defense does not engage in the practice of renditions" --the transfer of terror suspects to third countries without court approval.
What struck me is the non-denial denial: "The Department of Defense does not engage in the practice of renditions." Nobody has ever said it did. The CIA is in charge of renditions. And it's the CIA that in charge of the secret prisons.
It's worth recalling that as the administration embarks on an effort to downsize Gitmo and remove it as a lightening rod for criticism. The administration certainly doesn't like to chat about it , but the worst parts of the detainee system aren't Gitmo but the ones we know the least about--CIA secret prisons included.
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