Court Sides With CIA On 'Extraordinary Rendition,' Grants President Broad 'State Secrets' PrivilegePAUL ELIAS | 09/ 8/10 11:35 PM | AP
SAN FRANCISCO — A sharply divided federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit challenging a controversial post-Sept. 11 CIA program that flew terrorism suspects to secret prisons.
The complaint was filed by five terrorism suspects who were arrested shortly after 9/11 and say they were flown by a Boeing Co. subsidiary to prisons around the world where they were tortured. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited national security risks when it dismissed the men's case in a 6-5 ruling Wednesday.
The case could have broad repercussions on the national security debate as it makes its way toward the Supreme Court, and it casts a spotlight on the controversial "extraordinary rendition" program the Bush administration used after 9/11.
The Obama administration subsequently said it would continue to send foreign detainees to other countries for questioning, but rarely - and only if U.S. officials are confident the prisoners will not be tortured.~snip~
"If this decision stands," Wizner said, "the United States will have closed its courts to torture victims while extending complete immunity to its torturers."