How PLANESPOTTERS turned into the SCOURGE of the CIA

How planespotters turned into the scourge of the CIA

Gerard Seenan and Giles Tremlett
Saturday December 10, 2005
The Guardian


The recording of flights by spotters like Paul from places as far afield as Bournemouth and Karachi has unintentionally played a significant role in helping journalists and human rights groups expose the scale of the CIA's renditions system. But his impact on such international intrigue largely passes Paul by. "It's not the CIA bit that interests us. You don't even know who owns the plane when you take down the serial number," he said, already distracted as something comes in to land through the grey drizzle. "You keep accurate logs, for your own records."

In January last year Mr Manchado saw a Boeing 737 on the airport tarmac. He pressed his camera shutter button while speculating idly that some US millionaire was in town. Then he put the picture of the Boeing (tail fin number N313P) on airliners.net, and forgot about it.

Within a few days Mr Manchado starting getting strange calls and emails. They came from the US and from Sweden. "People were asking me questions about the plane. They obviously weren't all planespotters because they were asking questions that people who know about planes don't ask," he said.

Months later, he got a call from Germany's ZDF television. A man called Khalid El-Masri had come to them claiming he had been kidnapped by the CIA from Macedonia, bundled onto a plane and taken off to a prison many hours away. Several months later, after allegedly being tortured, he was flown back and dropped in Albania.

One of the planes thought to be involved was one Mr Manchado had photographed. It was believed that it had flown on to Macedonia that very same day. With the photo in their hand, ZDF reporters were able to persuade Skopje flight control to give them a printout of the flight plan. The aircraft had gone from Palma to Skopje and from there to Baghdad and Kabul. Mr El-Masri's story, convincingly told but difficult to believe, fitted.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,7369,1664146,00.html

Next thing ya know, it will be a crime to take pictures of airports....I can see it coming...

I read the dpreview forums (digital photography review). Many amateurs and pros have been hassled, sent away, threatened with arrest, etc, for taking pictures of bridges, airports, airplanes in the sky, public buildings, and so on. And all of this is some misbegotten attempt to thwart terrorism.

thx for posting this!

But it's getting easier and easier to believe all the time. And non-denial denials by U.S. cabinet officials such as the Secretary of State don't seem to be putting an end to these stories.

It's time for the corrupt Bush administration to come clean. Because they're not going to like the results very much if we the people have to ferret out the truth they're hiding.