An innocuous-sounding euphemism, a “rendition” is the act of kidnapping a person on the street and whisking them off to God-knows-where so they can be tortured questioned. It’s the kind of thing I’d expect to read about in Peron’s Aregntina or Kim’s North Korea. But 911 changed everything, and now, as we all know, the US is doing it, too.

The CIA’s independent watchdog is investigating fewer than 10 cases where terror suspects may have been mistakenly swept away to foreign countries by the spy agency, a figure lower than published reports but enough to raise some concerns.

After the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
President Bush gave the CIA authority to conduct the now-controversial operations, called “renditions,” and permitted the agency to act without case-by-case approval from the White House or other administration offices.

The highly classified practice involves grabbing terror suspects off the street of one country and flying them to their home country or another where they are wanted for a crime or questioning.

Some 100 to 150 people have been snatched up since 9/11. Government officials say the action is reserved for those considered by the CIA to be the most serious terror suspects.

Bush has said that these transfers to other countries — with assurances the terror suspects won’t be tortured — are a way to protect the United States and its allies from attack. “That was the charge we have been given,” he said in March.

At least we’re investigating it. But really, this notion of Presidential Infallibility has got to stop. How can we blast North Korea for kidnapping Japanese sunbathers and shipping them to Pyonyang to teach Japanese? And yes, I know we’re kidnapping “suspected terrorists,” but there’s a reason we have legal processes, to protect the innocent. But since when have we cared about that?

Imagine being the family member of an innocent man swept off to some gulag to be tortured for…nothing? And we just shrug and mumble, “Well, sometimes mistakes are made.” It’s so unreal, so un-American, so…so…so Bush.