Background—Justice Denied

“Extraordinary rendition” refers to the secret transfer of captives by the U.S. government to locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, or the Middle East where they can be held secretly and tortured during interrogation. A large body of evidence leaves little doubt that the CIA has maintained important infrastructure for its extraordinary rendition program at the taxpayerfunded airports in Johnston and Lenoir counties, North Carolina. Flight records show that planes linked to extraordinary rendition have also visited other public airports in North Carolina.

For years, North Carolina has provided infrastructure allowing the CIA to ferry prisoners to secret overseas “black sites” and to third-country jails where they have been held indefinitely and subjected to inhumane treatment and barbaric tortures. In addition, credible reports suggest that the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) of the U.S. Department of Defense, headquartered in Fayetteville, may have helped maintain overseas “black sites” where detainees were held secretly and tortured. Centurion Aviation, based at Fayetteville Regional Airport, has been linked to extraordinary rendition and “black sites.”

Torture is immoral and a violation of international and U.S. laws. Yet at all levels our government has failed to discharge its legal duty to create a system of accountability. The CIA's affiliate, Aero Contractors, is based at the Johnston County Airport and may still be flying missions for the CIA that involve secret detention and abuse of detainees. Strong evidence ties Aero Contractors to the transport for torture of many specific people, including Mohamed Bashmilah, Binyam Mohamed, Khaled el-Masri, Bisher al-Rawi, and Abou el-Kassem Britel. Claiming that state secrets would be compromised, the Bush and Obama administrations have consistently argued that these men should be denied legal recourse. All branches of the federal government are avoiding their obligation to seek justice, and North Carolina's state and county officials have refused to investigate our state's documented role in torture.

While extraordinary rendition has caused serious damage to those who were kidnapped and tortured, as a state and a nation we are all harmed. The highest U.S. officials ordered soldiers and secret agents into criminal conduct without regard for the cost to those individuals' personal integrity and psychological well-being, or the risk of undermining community support for their service and sacrifice.

Torture makes us less safe. Interrogation experts know that torture generates unreliable intelligence, and that resources are squandered chasing bad leads. Images from Abu Ghraib and the stories of innocent men who were crippled or whose families were threatened only serve to recruit new terrorists. Abusing human beings overseas goes hand-in-hand with heightened disregard for human life in our own communities, prisons, and detention centers.

The United States' resort to torture and secret detention and its leaders' refusal to confront those violations have robbed us of some of our most precious birthrights. Among those are the rule of law and the goodwill and respect of millions around the world.

Across our differences, Americans are united by common goals for our communities and our country. We all want safety and peace for our children. We all value human life and are ready to stand up for democracy. Together, we can acknowledge what went wrong and bring it to the light of day. We can seek out those who were harmed, hear their stories, establish an historical record, offer apologies where appropriate, and begin to make amends.

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