April 26, 2005

Khaled el-Masri: WHERE'S THE MEDIA???

Am I missing something here or has the whole world gone nuts?

The US government admits that it kidnapped an innocent foreign national on foreign soil, then flew him on a secret flight to a US-occupied foreign country, Afghanistan (which somehow, despite the US military presence, retains a reputation for lawlessness and torture). The US government admits that it then "rendered" this innocent man into the captivity of supposedly independent Afghan authorities and then (presumably and allegedly) watched while he was tortured. When it became clear that the man was innocent, the head of the CIA was informed but he did nothing for months. Presumably as a result of pressure from the German government, the State Department finally forced the CIA (after repeated attempts) to let the man go. But rather than being flown back to Germany with a massive apology and millions of dollars in compensation, the man was flown to Albania and dumped on the roadside out in the middle of nowhere!

The US government admits this and yet... And yet... THE MEDIA IS SILENT!!!

Why? Why???? WHY?!?!?!

A Google News Search on "Khaled el-Masri" today brings up just a handful of publications. For the record, here are the publications who are at least TOUCHING the subject, or have done this month:
Innocent German beaten by US jailers
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription), Australia - 24 Apr 2005
The officials said that when Khaled el-Masri was taken from a bus on the Macedonian-Serbian border in December 2003, US authorities believed he was a member of ...

Rice Ordered Release of German Sent to Afghan Prison in Error
New York Times - 22 Apr 2005
... of Ms. Rice's decision that was first reported by NBC News, said that when Khaled el-Masri was taken from a bus on the Serbian-Macedonian border on Dec. ...

Innocent German jailed by US in Afghanistan, says report
Peninsula On-line, Qatar - 22 Apr 2005
Khaled El Masri was held in secret at an Afghan prison nicknamed the “Salt Pit” for three months while Central Intelligence Agency agents considered what ...

US ; CIA said to have wrongly held German suspect:
Keralanext, India - 21 Apr 2005
Authorities in Germany have been investigating complaints by Khaled el-Masri, a Lebanese-born German who says he was abducted in Macedonia on New Year's Eve in ...

Reports of Afghan Abuses Undermine Security: Expert
Al-Jazeerah.info, GA - 23 Apr 2005
... Khaled El-Masri was held in secret at an Afghan prison nicknamed the “Salt Pit” for three months while Central Intelligence Agency agents considered what ...

Man's Claims May Be a Look at Dark Side of War on Terror
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - 11 Apr 2005
ULM, Germany — Khaled el-Masri says his strange and violent trip into the void began with a bus ride on New Year's Eve 2003. When ...

Not Boltin'
Slate - 12 Apr 2005
... The LAT fronts the story of Khaled el-Masri, a naturalized German who seems to have been kinda ["kinda"???!] kidnapped by US intel agents, imprisoned in Afghanistan, and ...

Man's Claims May Be A Look At Dark Side Of War On Terror
DisInfo.com - 12 Apr 2005
'ULM, Germany — Khaled el-Masri says his strange and violent trip into the void began with a bus ride on New Year's Eve 2003. ...

CIA abduction plane landed in Shannon Airport
Sunday Business Post, Ireland - 9 Apr 2005
Khaled el-Masri was reportedly arrested while on holidays in Macedonia, taken to a motel near the country's capital, Skopje, and handed over to the US ...
What's going on? How do you kill a story like this?

2 comments:

Winter Patriot said...

The major media are terrified.

elendil said...

Because he's brown, and no one who matters gives a shit about brown ppl.

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