village voice > news > Give Me Liberty: George W. Bush's Presidential Library Not Likely To Include the Story of Binyam Mohammed by Nat Hentoff

village voice > news > Give Me Liberty: George W. Bush's Presidential Library Not Likely To Include the Story of Binyam Mohammed by Nat Hentoff

"But now, for the first time, a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union is shining a harsh light on the world's largest aerospace company, Boeing, for empowering its subsidiary, Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., to be a major travel agent for all phases of these horror flights.

"Renditions" begin with CIA agents in black masks and clothes hauling shackled, hooded prisoners onto an aircraft. But the missions, authorized by Bush, have ultimately backfired, as they bolster the recruiting efforts of terrorist organizations that deride the image of America as the beacon of the rule of law and individual freedom for the world.

The ACLU charges, with specific evidence based on actual flight plans, that "since December, 2001, Boeing's Jeppesen subsidiary "has provided flight and logistical support to at least 15 aircraft that have made a total of 70 rendition flights."

On its website, Jeppesen, extolling its international flight operations, boasts: "Jeppesen has done it all." Indeed it has. As described by the ACLU, it gives the CIA's men in black "itinerary, route, weather, and fuel planning . . . landing permits . . . customs clearance . . . catering, and hotel accommodations [often in luxury hotels, paid for by taxpayers]" for the crew of the kidnappers."