CIA planes have landed in Canada 74 times since the 9/11 terror attacks, underscoring fears that the United States is ferrying suspected terrorists through its neighboring country en route to foreign prisons for torture, according to newly declassified government documents. The government memos were released this week under Canada's Access to Information Act. The Associated Press obtained them Thursday from The Canadian Press.
Internal government briefing notes revealed senior intelligence officials from six government agencies, including the Security Intelligence Service, met in late November to discuss the flights. One memo dated Nov. 28 instructed officials to tell the media that there was ``no credible information to suggest that these planes were used to ferry suspected terrorists to and from Canada, or that illegal activity took place.''
A spokesman for the CIA in Washington declined comment on Thursday. U.S. intelligence officials have said in the past that the planes are more likely to be carrying staff, supplies or Director Porter Goss on his way to a foreign visit. The U.S. has come under fire, especially in Europe, for the practice of ``extraordinary rendition'' - the transporting of terror suspects to countries where they face harsh interrogation methods and possibly torture.
Ottawa has been investigating the detention of Syrian-born Canadian engineer Maher Arar. He was detained at JFK International Airport in New York in September 2002 on suspicion of being a member of Osama bin-Laden's al-Qaida network. U.S. authorities deported Arar to Syria, where he was kept in a damp Damascus prison cell and allegedly tortured for 10 months before being released and flown back to Canada.
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