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Ghost Plane by Stephen Grey

  • Newsnight
  • 26 Oct 06, 11:51 AM

ghostplane203logo.jpgBritish journalist Stephen Grey's Ghost Plane documents his investigation into the secret CIA practice of transporting terror suspects to third countries - known as "extraordinary rendition".

The book claims many of those prisoners subsequently suffered torture at the hands of regimes such as Syria - publicly pilloried by the Bush administration but, it says, privately colluded with the name of defending the US.

Read an extract and post your comments and reviews below.

Comments  Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 12:56 AM on 27 Oct 2006,
  • paul johnson wrote:

The boy Assad knows which side his bread is buttered on. He'll criticise the US in public, but privately understands that the islamofascists are a threat to everyone, himself included.
We should celebrate the fact that we have another ally in the war on terror

  • 2.
  • At 10:26 AM on 27 Oct 2006,
  • Louise wrote:

I am not surprised with the stories presented in this book. These are the stories of people who lived to tell the tale and I feel the ones who did not survive the torture get shipped to Iraq and dumped in down town Baghdad as victims of sectarian violence.

  • 3.
  • At 08:25 PM on 27 Oct 2006,
  • osaze osagie ehanire wrote:


I believe president Bush is doing the right thing,we need people like Tony Blair,Howard of Australia to be sucessful in this bitter war on terror. one thing should be noted, mistake would made but Bush, Blair, Howard, did not ask for this war on terror but it was entrusted on the west because of our way of life.
One thing keep surprising me, you journalist sinces to be more interested in protecting the right of those who carry out suicide bombing, killing of innocent people,and looking for fault, and blame, president Bush for everything that is wrong in the world.

  • 4.
  • At 08:58 AM on 28 Oct 2006,
  • Ali Scherezade wrote:


Did it occur to Newsnight to put some kind of health warning on such graphic descriptions of torture? I was unprepared,and found them rather distressing.

  • 5.
  • At 04:01 AM on 30 Oct 2006,
  • andrew wrote:

Maher Arar's story is chilling and heartbreaking. He was turned in by the RCMP (Canadian Police) to US intelligence on the basis of the flimsiest of false information. He has been totally exonerated in Canada by a public enquiry chaired by Justice Dennis O'Connor. As Arar himself states, he will never be the same again and suffers post traumatic stress symptoms. These facts are widely known in Canada but have hardly been covered by the corporate media in the US. There is very little hope that Mr Arar will receive any kind of apology or explanation from US agencies as this would "threaten US security". This man is a true hero and deserves our sympathy. His story should become more widely appreciated and Stephen Grey is to be applauded for bringing this to a larger audience. The dangers of racial profiling, destruction of habeas corpus and the flouting of international human rights laws are all illustrated by this case.

  • 6.
  • At 05:52 PM on 30 Oct 2006,
  • cairo wrote:

how deep is the rabbit hole? The last time I checked Syria was hated almost as much as Iran is by the US/UK gov. How can you believe anything related to those countries. Syria is not hated for torture practices but for it's stance on Israel. Never has been and never will be any truth about Syria in the Western press. This is just a fact--something we have to live with. Wait until u judge anything involving 'blacklisted' countries. It's just common sense.

  • 7.
  • At 05:55 PM on 30 Oct 2006,
  • cairo wrote:

how deep is the rabbit hole? The last time I checked Syria was hated almost as much as Iran is by the US/UK gov. How can you believe anything related to those countries. Syria is not hated for torture practices but for it's stance on Israel. Never has been and never will be any truth about Syria in the Western press. This is just a fact--something we have to live with. Wait until u judge anything involving 'blacklisted' countries. It's just common sense.

  • 8.
  • At 05:57 PM on 30 Oct 2006,
  • cairo wrote:

reserve judgement on nations deemed to be part of the "axis of evil". Dont believe the hype. Eventhough this book/article puts a dark light on Syria, we will not know the truth concerning syria. This is just the state of affairs. Get real.

  • 9.
  • At 08:03 PM on 30 Oct 2006,
  • andrew wrote:

Cairo, Are you saying the Syrian torture piece is a fabrication by all those involved? A Canadian judge would not agree.
Osaze, on your point, Arar himself points out (see the book "Static" by Amy and David Goodman) it is unacceptable for governments to go around wrecking some individuals lives, as his was, for the common good (and by the way where is the evidence that Blair, Bush and Howard are succeeeding in stopping terrorism ?).

  • 10.
  • At 08:15 AM on 16 Nov 2006,
  • Benedict Aloysius wrote:

If Al-Qaeda is a fanatic group ... if members of this group are normal, intelligent, educated men, good sons and brothers, good neighbours, good colleagues and, above all, supposed good second-generation citizens, blessed or cursed with a quirk of animosity towards anything and all of America (USA) and they killed themselves along with three thousand odd innocents, we know their morale and their moral turpitude in full.

They should be dealt with, for the good of the society in general, in the manner that befits them according to the authorities we have chosen to protect the 'society'.

We should not interfere in the workings and methods of our security authorities who could be questioned at the end of an operation and definitely not while an operation is 'on' and that too in 'public' ... oh no sir ....it鈥檚 not done !!!

Well, in the process of selecting the bad for annihilation a few good or innocents too would get trampled, due to foibles of our own security authorities.

We cannot survive if we doubt our own authorities ! Could we?!!

  • 11.
  • At 12:56 PM on 29 Nov 2006,
  • Ansar Bahk wrote:

Benedit wrote :

We cannot survive if we doubt our own authorities ! Could we?!!

Well, benny,
Democracy does not survive when you do not question them. see Russia, China, McCarthyism. Bush Jr,

But i'm sure you knew that and chose to ignore it, just as you choose to ignore the facts (as supported by evidence and former US intelligence personnel) that most of the people snatched up, were not Al Qeada members. It's your own false argument that people are trying to defend humna rights of suicide bombers.
What happened to trials, due process? Innocent until proven guilty? So quick to defend the spooks Benny, is it just cos they make you FEEL safe?
What do you think happens to an ordinary person when they find that their brother, son, father was wrongfully snatched and tortured? Will they praise America and its wonderful democratic system?

  • 12.
  • At 05:38 PM on 14 Feb 2007,
  • wrote:

Your know end news! What is this? Discounts!

  • 13.
  • At 05:43 PM on 14 Feb 2007,
  • wrote:

Your know end news! What is this? Discounts!

  • 14.
  • At 03:56 PM on 27 May 2007,
  • R.A.Lambert wrote:

The comments made about Mr. Arar are interesting to say the least.To place credibility in the decision reached by Mr. Justice O'Connor is indeed foolish. O'Connor heard from nobody that can/could confirm Arar was tortured in a Syrian prison.All witnesses serving with the Canadian foreign service were weak low level bureaucrats trying desperately to absolve themselves from what we in Canada refer to as a witch hunt.
The level of empathy displayed by O'Connor towards Arar cast serious doubt over his ability to reach an informed decision. We the Canadian taxpayers have paid out $10 million CDN. to Mr. Arar for his uncorroborated fiction, the fact Arar can still not travel to the U.S. is a part of the story that never came out.

  • 15.
  • At 01:25 PM on 05 Sep 2007,
  • wrote:

popotan tiny )))

  • 16.
  • At 03:49 PM on 05 Sep 2007,
  • wrote:

anette

  • 17.
  • At 02:31 PM on 28 Oct 2007,
  • Alexymd wrote:



  • 18.
  • At 01:58 PM on 22 Nov 2007,
  • Jennifer wrote:

Gear up for grub with a tripleheader of pigskin, including a meeting of brothers in Dallas. Everybody knows it's been a rough year for her, but find out who else had issues

  • 19.
  • At 07:02 AM on 24 Nov 2007,
  • Jessica wrote:

Gear up for grub with a tripleheader of pigskin, including a meeting of brothers in Dallas. Everybody knows it's been a rough year for her, but find out who else had issues

  • 20.
  • At 12:16 PM on 26 Nov 2007,
  • kathryn wrote:

well i am doing this at school and i think it is a waste of time and we all eat these products with out noticing.

  • 21.
  • At 11:53 PM on 27 Feb 2008,
  • wrote:

Hi there, I have a question:

Loratadine and its active metabolite desloratadine are distributed into

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