Supreme Court Rejects El-Masri Extraordinary Rendition Litigation Without Comment

For cripes sake, here we go again. Overstepping established civil liberties in the name of preventing terrorism. Invoking the state secrets privilege to block all discernable means of fact finding. Summary dismissal by “The Supremes” without comment Get out my life, why don’t cha babe. Election 2008 cannot come soon enough for moi.

This time, the “alleged” victim, Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, sought $75,000.00 in damages, an explanation, and apology after five months of unlawful detention and torture at the hands of the CIA. We’re talking textbook, straight out of The Good Shepherd, diapering, drugging, stripping and beating torture, the kind supposedly reserved for our “noble” government’s most dangerous enemies. Turns out the CIA nabbed the wrong guy. No apology, no explanation, just a “whoops, our bad,” and release via commercial airliner.

On November 28, 2006, the CBS Evening News ran the following item:

Now that I think about it, this case sounds an awful lot like the Matt Damon movie. Don’t remember seeing any publicity about The Good Shepherd’s origin, but I’ll bet El-Masri v. U.S., Case No. 06-1613 played more than just a superficial role in development. Unlike the movie, however, where the victim committed suicide, El-Masri rightfully sought vindication in America’s hallowed halls of justice.

Poor sap. In this day and age, one can almost bet the farm on obfuscation from the Bush administration. Both lower courts dismissed the lawsuit against former CIA Director, George Tenet, et al. citing the state secrets privilege. I suppose it didn’t matter whether El-Masri also sued private entities Premier Executive Transport Services of Massachusetts, Aero Contractors Limited of North Carolina, and Keeler and Tate Management of Nevada. What’s secret is secret. The U.S. refused to acknowledge detaining him and the whole case was fried.

As reported this morning by MSNBC,

The state secrets privilege, formerly used sparingly now invoked more times than the vast right wing conspiracy theory, allows our government to withhold information deemed necessary to protect national security. All such classified material is off limits to public review. Eventually, as time passes and memories fade, The Freedom of Information Act permits public access, but by then, generally, any legal means to redress injustice are gone.

Human rights watchdogs believed El-Masri would have his day in court after the ACLU filed appeal briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court. Wrong again, my dear Watson. This morning, the nine robed wonders denied review without comment, essentially kicking the case for good. German authorities dropped their investigation against 13 unnamed CIA agents, declining to press extradition after the Bush administration balked and refused to comply. Don’t cha just love when world powers roll over and play dead?

So, where does that leave El-Masri? I’d answer, but this is supposed to be a family friendly blog. I’m also outraged over this low blow to the American people. As American citizens, we are entitled to know the circumstances under which we can expect to be summarily stripped of our constitutional rights without consequence. As so eloquently stated by USA Today reporter, Joan Biskupic,

That about sums it all up for me. Where are agents Mulder and Scully when you need them?