THIS one slipped under the radar at Slugger HQ yesterday – almost literally! According to the BBC and Press Association, UK Transport Minister Alistair Darling has revealed that aircraft allegedly operated by the CIA to take prisoners out of the USA landed at airports in Northern Ireland.Darling said that “the government had no evidence to support allegations that the flights were involved in the transfer of terrorist suspects”. He added: “None of the information held by my Department provides evidence that these flights were involved in rendition. The British Government is not aware of any cases of rendition through the UK since May 1997, apart from the two cases in 1998 about which the Foreign Secretary has informed Parliament.”
However, there was no information available on the passengers on board these planes or the purpose of the “non-commercial” flights that went through City of Derry and Aldergrove airports, which won’t allay suspicions that the flights may have been involved in US prisoner transfers in the ‘war on terrorism’, better known as ‘extraordinary rendition’.
Ironically, the LibDem who put the question to Darling was Michael Moore MP.
It’s also notable how the story is being reported in the US and UK.
Hat tip to A Tangled Web for the heads-up. (I see ATW has also published (at least) one of the cartoons of Mohammad!)
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