BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Who didn’t know rendition flights stopped by Diego Garcia to refuel?  Oh, please….

According to CNN

Then-Prime Minister Tony Blair assured the government’s Intelligence and Security Committee last March that the United States had never rendered any detainees through the UK or its overseas territories since Sept. 11, 2001. The committee released a report last June saying it was satisfied with the findings.

Miliband said the government had a “deep disappointment” about the late news of the rendition flights, but he said Britain believed the United States acted “in good faith” when it made the initial assurances that no flights had taken place.

“Secretary Rice has underlined to me the firm U.S. understanding that there will be no rendition through the UK, UK airspace or overseas territories without express British government permission,” he said.

Mike Gapes, chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, was less forgiving about the late information. His committee published its annual report on human rights last April in which it already expressed concerns about rendition.

“The fact that the United States Bush Administration has clearly misled or lied to our government has resulted in our government inadvertently misleading a select committee of this house and members of this house,” Gapes said. “The United States administration has to bear in mind that this is a most serious matter and we do not wish to see it repeated.”

And, the London Bridge is for sale!  No one is going to buy the bridge or this story.  No one believes that with military aircraft carrying detainees or those who were rendered (however that should be worded), our government didn’t know they were stopping to refuel in Diego Garcia.

Secretary Rice should not stoop so low as to further embarrass the American people by continuing to lie to our last remaining friend in the world.  To apologize as if this is news to us and “just discovered” is an insult to American intelligence and to the British people.

Or, in the alternative, no one in the Bush administration is capable of performing his/her job.  But, that goes without saying.