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Bush admits secret CIA jails
06/09/2006 22:12 - (SA)
Washington - President George W Bush acknowledged on Wednesday the existence of previously secret CIA prisons around the world.
He said 14 high-value terrorism suspects - including the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks - had transferred from the system to Guantanamo Bay for trials.
He said the "small number" of detainees that had been kept in CIA custody included people responsible for the bombing of the warship USS Cole in 2000 in Yemen and the 1998 attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in addition to the 2001 attacks.
"The most-important source of information on where the terrorists are hiding and what they are planning is the terrorists themselves," Bush said in a White House speech.
"It has been necessary to move these individuals to an environment where they can be held in secret, questioned by experts and, when appropriate, prosecuted for terrorist acts."
The announcement from Bush is the first time the administration has acknowledged the existence of central intelligence agency prisons, which have been a source of friction between Washington and some allies in Europe.
Names al-Qaeda leaders
Bush said the CIA programme had involved suspected terrorists such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, believed to be the No 3 al-Qaeda leader before he was captured in Pakistan in 2003 Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged would-be 9/11 hijacker and Abu Zubaydah, who was believed to be a link between Osama bin Laden and many al-Qaeda cells before he was also captured in Pakistan, in March 2002.
Defending the programme, the president said the questioning of these detainees had provided critical intelligence information about terrorist activities.
This had enabled officials to prevent attacks not only in the United States, but also in Europe and other countries.
He said the programme had been reviewed by administration lawyers and had been the subject of strict oversight from within the CIA.
Bush would not detail the type of interrogation techniques that were used through the programme, saying they were tough, but do not constitute torture.
Afforded some legal protections
"This programme has helped us to take potential mass murderers off the streets before they have a chance to kill," said the president.
Bush said the 14 key terrorist leaders who'd been transferred to the US military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay would be afforded some legal protections consistent with the Geneva conventions.
"They will continue to be treated with the humanity that they denied others," said Bush.
- AP
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