On June 10th, 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the US had captured a known terrorist who was exploring a plan to explode a "dirty bomb" on American soil. That alleged terrorist was José Padilla who was finally charged in 2005 with conspiracy to murder. What Ashcroft didn't talk about was how information against him was obtained - by the relentless torture of one man-- Binyam Mohamed, in the name of the United States. Arrested at Karachi Airport before Padilla's arrest on April 10, 2002, Mohamed was put on a luxury executive jet and flown to an interrogation center in Morocco. For over 18 months, he was subjected to one torture after another: Beating followed beating and, then, his guards produced razor blades and began to split the skin all over his body, including on his genitals. Since 1997, hundreds of people, many of whom have no ties to terrorist organizations, have been abducted from foreign airports or street corners on suspicions based at times on the flimsiest of evidence courtesy of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. In Ghost Plane, Stephen Grey tells the true story of the CIA's torture program known by the euphemism "extraordinary rendition" and the airplanes that make the program run. Begun during the Clinton administration, but taking a decidedly more voracious turn after 9/11, the rendition system has seen the transfer of more than 1000 prisoners into jails stretching from Guantanamo to Syria, from Kabul to Bangkok and beyond. Grey had access to the thousands of CIA flight records and has interviewed dozens of sources from the most senior levels of the National Security Council to the CIA. In Ghost Plane, he paints a disturbing picture of the War on Terror that reaches to the highest levels of power in Washington, D.C. and exposes the extreme ethical corruption at the heart of this US government program, a program finally acknowledged by President George Bush in September 2006, undertaken in the name of the citizens of the United States.
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Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program
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"Powerful and damning...[Grey] is a prodigious digger and more than a single-minded muckraker. His attention to detail can be chilling."
--The Washington Post
"An explosive new book provides a rare glimpse into the full extent of the Agency's controversial terror renditions."--Time
"It's not often an author gets an unsolicited pre-publication stamp of legitimacy from the U.S. president, much less one who reports on human-rights issues...disturbing in the depth and detail of its evidence."
--Kirkus Reviews, (Starred)
About the Author
STEPHEN GREY is an award-winning investigative journalist who has contributed to The New York Times, 60 Minutes, ABC News, CNN, Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly, the BBC and other publications.
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89 of 101 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Any citizen concerned about the manifest threats to our constitutionally guaranteed liberties emanating from the Bush administration in its approach to the "War On Terror" will do well to read and appreciate the frightening story contained in these pages. Author Stephen Grey takes great pains to carefully document the astonishing ways in which the Executive Branch has unleashed the least principled elements within the Central Intelligence Agency and fully endorsed the crypto-fascistic policy of "extraordinary rendition", which is a clever euphemism for the unlawful abduction and illegal international transportation of certain designated "terrorist" suspects to avoid domestic legal complications. In other words, when the CIA and Executive branch determine that a specific suspected terrorist might have critical time-sensitive information, it employs this technique to deliver the suspected terrorist into the hands of foreign governments that sanction and practice torture. Thus, the fundamental purpose of this policy is to do an end run around the constitutional guarantees which everyone within the borders of the USA enjoys by situating the suspect in countries in which brutal torture is both tolerated and practiced.
In many cases there is an almost comical ironic twist to the politics involved in the sense that the Executive Branch and the CIA seem to blatently ignore and deliberately subvert existing foreign policy in acts that are most accurately described as being cynically pragmatic, which also employ outlaw states such as Syria to use extreme torture methods to ply sensitive information from known or suspected terrorist suspects. What Grey reveals is a well-established network of secret international prisons not only sanctioned by the United States Government, but which also rewards host countries who are aided and abetted in their own civil rights violations through immoral and unethical manipulation of Presidential influence on other countries to "take it easy" on human rights violator states like Morocco, Syria, and the Sudan. The picture that eventually comes into sharp focus is one in which both American and European leaders intentionally subvert both civil and criminal laws as well as well established international policies to keep such outlawed practices of illegal imprisonment and extreme torture secret as they attempt to mine the depths of human intelligence without worrying about either the morality or legality of such actions.
This story is not only shocking in terms of the craven practices it shows our elected and appointed leaders to be guilty of, but is also a stunning indictment of the whole notion of the "War On Terror" by illustrating that we as a country are apparently just as willing to inflict pain and suffering on potential innocents to achieve our political means as are the terrorists, meaning that in that regard we are no better than they. It should be an outrage for Americans to recognize that our elected and appointed representatives, that is, those who have initiated and are practicing extraordinary rendition appear all too ready, willing, and able to simply set aside thorny constitutional and ethical standards (which have such a rich tradition in western civilization) to achieve what they term to be a short term advantage in the struggle against the terrorists.
While I am no Pollyanna, and am willing to admit there are certain rare circumstances in which such situational ethics may seem to justify the use of extreme measures, it seems that what Mr. Grey has uncovered is anything but an exceptional situation, that in fact there has developed a wholesale policy which trashes these traditional cautions against the use of extreme torture and the related legal abuse of the suspect's legal rights, thus setting the stage for an increasingly noxious authoritarian practice in which the act of abducting a person quickly becomes a de facto justification for the act itself. Having such trust and confidence in the wisdom of the Executive Branch and the CIA to visit such summary justice to people simply suspected of terrorist ties seems quite contrary to the fundamental laws and liberties guaranteed by the founding fathers. Indeed, such rushes to judgement can have catastrophic consequences for innocent people mistakenly caught up in this practice, and there are several documented cases in which this has happened, most undeniably to a Canadian citizen who was simply passing through the USA en route from the Middle East back to Canada when he was detained and abducted at JFK airport, and was subsequently flown to Syria and then systematically tortured for months before being released after continuing complaints from Canadian authorities to the CIA and US State Department.
Indeed, it is difficult not to be outraged and disgusted when Grey traces the record of government representatives as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making public pronouncements denying the use of extraordinary rendition and torture by third party host nations on behalf of the USA. Under such circumstances, it is preposterous to suggest that we simply trust Mr. Bush and his cabinet members to do whatever they think best by allowing them the latitude to defend our liberties as they see fit, and without any meaningful oversight or review. We should all be ashamed of the way in which our leaders have done such things in the name of national security, and be prepared to compensate the many innocent victims who were virtually kidnapped and willingly surrendered by our agents to suffer in the hands of bestial captors. As I indicated above, some have had their lives ruined. Senator Barry Goldwater once commented that "extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice"; yet I am sure he would turn over in his grave to learn of the sordid details that are described in this book. In my opinion, our own clutch on personal liberty is seriously jeapordized by the anti-democratic and authoritarian policies and practices described herein. Enjoy!
In many cases there is an almost comical ironic twist to the politics involved in the sense that the Executive Branch and the CIA seem to blatently ignore and deliberately subvert existing foreign policy in acts that are most accurately described as being cynically pragmatic, which also employ outlaw states such as Syria to use extreme torture methods to ply sensitive information from known or suspected terrorist suspects. What Grey reveals is a well-established network of secret international prisons not only sanctioned by the United States Government, but which also rewards host countries who are aided and abetted in their own civil rights violations through immoral and unethical manipulation of Presidential influence on other countries to "take it easy" on human rights violator states like Morocco, Syria, and the Sudan. The picture that eventually comes into sharp focus is one in which both American and European leaders intentionally subvert both civil and criminal laws as well as well established international policies to keep such outlawed practices of illegal imprisonment and extreme torture secret as they attempt to mine the depths of human intelligence without worrying about either the morality or legality of such actions.
This story is not only shocking in terms of the craven practices it shows our elected and appointed leaders to be guilty of, but is also a stunning indictment of the whole notion of the "War On Terror" by illustrating that we as a country are apparently just as willing to inflict pain and suffering on potential innocents to achieve our political means as are the terrorists, meaning that in that regard we are no better than they. It should be an outrage for Americans to recognize that our elected and appointed representatives, that is, those who have initiated and are practicing extraordinary rendition appear all too ready, willing, and able to simply set aside thorny constitutional and ethical standards (which have such a rich tradition in western civilization) to achieve what they term to be a short term advantage in the struggle against the terrorists.
While I am no Pollyanna, and am willing to admit there are certain rare circumstances in which such situational ethics may seem to justify the use of extreme measures, it seems that what Mr. Grey has uncovered is anything but an exceptional situation, that in fact there has developed a wholesale policy which trashes these traditional cautions against the use of extreme torture and the related legal abuse of the suspect's legal rights, thus setting the stage for an increasingly noxious authoritarian practice in which the act of abducting a person quickly becomes a de facto justification for the act itself. Having such trust and confidence in the wisdom of the Executive Branch and the CIA to visit such summary justice to people simply suspected of terrorist ties seems quite contrary to the fundamental laws and liberties guaranteed by the founding fathers. Indeed, such rushes to judgement can have catastrophic consequences for innocent people mistakenly caught up in this practice, and there are several documented cases in which this has happened, most undeniably to a Canadian citizen who was simply passing through the USA en route from the Middle East back to Canada when he was detained and abducted at JFK airport, and was subsequently flown to Syria and then systematically tortured for months before being released after continuing complaints from Canadian authorities to the CIA and US State Department.
Indeed, it is difficult not to be outraged and disgusted when Grey traces the record of government representatives as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making public pronouncements denying the use of extraordinary rendition and torture by third party host nations on behalf of the USA. Under such circumstances, it is preposterous to suggest that we simply trust Mr. Bush and his cabinet members to do whatever they think best by allowing them the latitude to defend our liberties as they see fit, and without any meaningful oversight or review. We should all be ashamed of the way in which our leaders have done such things in the name of national security, and be prepared to compensate the many innocent victims who were virtually kidnapped and willingly surrendered by our agents to suffer in the hands of bestial captors. As I indicated above, some have had their lives ruined. Senator Barry Goldwater once commented that "extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice"; yet I am sure he would turn over in his grave to learn of the sordid details that are described in this book. In my opinion, our own clutch on personal liberty is seriously jeapordized by the anti-democratic and authoritarian policies and practices described herein. Enjoy!
35 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Grey's "Ghost Plane" provides credible documentation of America's involvement in secret renditions and torture - often on the flimsiest of "evidence" (eg. suspect was a friend of someone believed to be a terrorist). He begins by telling of our recently sending prisoners to Syria for interrogation and torture - despite Bush and the State Department condemning Syria for torture and supporting terrorism. ("The enemy of my enemy is my friend" - both Syria and Egypt are anti-Al Qaeda.)
Grey also asserts that the U.S. has outsourced "questioning" since at least 1965 (South American Communists); in addition similar activities took place in Central America and Vietnam. President Carter then ceased all such activities, and directed the CIA to promote human rights. However, 9/11 ended that - first came Guantanamo, then stories began to leak out of the CIA working with some of the most repressive secret police in the world (eg. Egypt and Uzbekistan) that also opposed Islamic extremism.
Renditions are described as typically utilizing about 8 men dressed in black and wearing masks; when going to Egypt they would also bring two Egyptian officers - thus, technically the prisoners were never in U.S. custody. The U.S. only provided "taxi service" via small unmarked civilian "ghost planes."
Grey documents 89 renditions, and suspects hundreds more took place. Substantiation is provided by public flight logs, released prisoners' site descriptions matching actual known foreign country secret police settings, scars (on some), and reports from a British ambassador. Techniques included beatings, cuts, drug injections, food and water adulteration, threats made regarding a suspect's relatives, incessant and loud music, 18-hour interrogations, near drownings (eg. confined in a small room while water rose to one's chin), "water-boarding," chaining one's hands over the head - becoming unable to stand any longer caused great pain, etc.
Grey's "Ghost Plane" is a service to America - we need to know what is going on; it also puts torture allegations about Abu Ghraib into a new light.
Grey also asserts that the U.S. has outsourced "questioning" since at least 1965 (South American Communists); in addition similar activities took place in Central America and Vietnam. President Carter then ceased all such activities, and directed the CIA to promote human rights. However, 9/11 ended that - first came Guantanamo, then stories began to leak out of the CIA working with some of the most repressive secret police in the world (eg. Egypt and Uzbekistan) that also opposed Islamic extremism.
Renditions are described as typically utilizing about 8 men dressed in black and wearing masks; when going to Egypt they would also bring two Egyptian officers - thus, technically the prisoners were never in U.S. custody. The U.S. only provided "taxi service" via small unmarked civilian "ghost planes."
Grey documents 89 renditions, and suspects hundreds more took place. Substantiation is provided by public flight logs, released prisoners' site descriptions matching actual known foreign country secret police settings, scars (on some), and reports from a British ambassador. Techniques included beatings, cuts, drug injections, food and water adulteration, threats made regarding a suspect's relatives, incessant and loud music, 18-hour interrogations, near drownings (eg. confined in a small room while water rose to one's chin), "water-boarding," chaining one's hands over the head - becoming unable to stand any longer caused great pain, etc.
Grey's "Ghost Plane" is a service to America - we need to know what is going on; it also puts torture allegations about Abu Ghraib into a new light.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A fabulous job of integrating detail with narrative into a web of our secret and not too righteous world of torture, kidnapping and disregard for human rights.
Grey has made his case of detailing the flights, passengers, destinations, and outcomes of the "rendition" and extraordinary rendition by our own government. And how the details of delusion of the public were worked out by Gonzalez et al.
This book is well worth reading if you have an interest in how a government can go overboard in trashing human rights--and still get poor results (from torture).
What looks like a formidable read turns out to be riveting and is truly a worhtwhile addition to the support of a better, more open government that is above torture.
Grey has made his case of detailing the flights, passengers, destinations, and outcomes of the "rendition" and extraordinary rendition by our own government. And how the details of delusion of the public were worked out by Gonzalez et al.
This book is well worth reading if you have an interest in how a government can go overboard in trashing human rights--and still get poor results (from torture).
What looks like a formidable read turns out to be riveting and is truly a worhtwhile addition to the support of a better, more open government that is above torture.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ghost Plane
A must read book. It was pretty hard to set this one down once I started reading it. It will open your eyes.
Published 2 months ago by RLM
4.0 out of 5 stars
America's Dirty Little Secret
Black Banners, The Dark Side, and Ghost Plane review the history of American's interrogation techniques of Islamic terrorism suspects from three different viewpoints. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Joe V.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book revealing how US cooperated with dictatorships, and...
This book is banned in Egypt.
It's describing the torture during Mubarak's. It also talk about Omar Soliman who was the head of intelligence in Egypt and Al Adly who was the... Read more
It's describing the torture during Mubarak's. It also talk about Omar Soliman who was the head of intelligence in Egypt and Al Adly who was the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Amr
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ghost Plane
Most of this is a chapter by chapter case by case analysis of various individuals alleged to have ties to terrorist groups who were snatched up by the CIA, taken to countries where... Read more
Published on January 18, 2011 by Cwn_Annwn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing to be Proud Of; But Required Reading
An important book in the quest to better understand the war on terror and the actions taken by the United States and others. Read more
Published on January 17, 2009 by George H. Garfield
4.0 out of 5 stars
I have just one problem with this book
I have just finished reading Ghost Plane -- and I have just one problem with it's contents. Grey makes numerous references to the capture, detention, and confessions of the alleged... Read more
Published on January 31, 2008 by Antony Wilkes
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best account of a counter-productive and immoral policy
Stephen Grey, a former editor of the Sunday Times’ Insight investigation team, broke many of the news stories about the CIA’s programme of secret renditions. Read more
Published on April 26, 2007 by William Podmore
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinary Prose on "Extraordinary Rendition"
Grey's book is thoroughly researched and he documents very well the careless "trail" that the CIA left behind. Read more
Published on April 18, 2007 by N. Liberati
1.0 out of 5 stars
The real torture is reading this book
If the US wants to torture prisoners they should force them to read this poorly written book. Very unimpressive writing that makes the book hard to follow.
Published on March 7, 2007 by Naz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very detailed history of the CIA's air assets.
Very detaile information on the CIA's rendition flights.Also covers the History of the CIA's "Private" Air assets going back to the Vietnam War.
Published on January 9, 2007 by E. Cron
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