Extraordinary renditions to become costly for US private contractors? The Boston Globe's Farah Stockman reports that the private firms have also become the subject of multiple European investigations and lawsuits.

On the related subject of the US practice of extraordinary renditions itself, the NY Times' Richard Bernstein has a smart analysis of Rice's trip, and why European leaders may be pronouncing themselves reassured by her public comments, even while European publics remain critical:

...Still, there are plenty of reasons that European officials, in contrast to the European public and press, emerged from the meeting with Ms. Rice expressing their satisfaction.

One is the denials from Poland and Romania in response to news reports that they have harbored secret C.I.A. prisons on their territory. The United States has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of these prisons, but for Europe's leaders to declare that the United States, Poland and Romania are all lying would be a huge breach of diplomatic etiquette, especially in the absence of any proof that the press reports are true.

Second, as many commentators have pointed out, usually in a harshly critical tone, European intelligence services have been cooperating with the United States in gathering intelligence on terrorism suspects, so it would be hypocritical to say the least to condemn the United States for a set of practices that European governments have known about all along and quietly condoned. ...

But while European leaders may not have a great interest in getting to the bottom of extraordinary rendition flights that touched down at European airports, often these investigations, as we have seen with the Fitzgerald one, take on a life of their own.

Posted by Laura at December 11, 2005 10:30 AM