Last Wednesday I posted on Dick Marty’s seven-month long investigation on the alleged secret CIA flights, which has yielded no evidence. Dick’s lack of findings are justified by what I refer to as Dickspeak:
“Even if proof, in the classical meaning of the term, is not as yet available, a number of coherent and converging elements indicate that such secret detention centers did indeed exist in Europe,”
I took the time to read (Via ¡No Pasarán!), the full text of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights report on the Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states: 292 paragraphs and 241 footnotes simply to say that Dick regards this acusation as the “Dick full employment act of 2005/6/7 . . .”:
14. I have often been described as an investigator, or even a special investigator. It might be helpful to point out, therefore, that I do not enjoy any specific investigatory powers and, in particular, am not entitled to use coercive methods or to require the release of specific documents. My work has consequently consisted primarily of interviews and analysis.
So he can speculate over a heap of newspaper clippings while collecting a salary, benefits, and publicity.
54. It is also possible to develop a hypothesis as to the nature of some other aircraft landings belonging to the same renditions circuit.
It is also possible to develop a hypothesis on any darn thing you want to develop a hypothesis on, especially if you’re getting paid for it.
62. We consider that while all these factual elements do not provide definitive evidence of secret detention centres, they do justify on their own a positive obligation to carry out a serious investigation
which Dick would head, of course. If he were an investigator, that is. Which he isn’t.
73. It is possible that several detainees may have been transported together on the flight out of Kabul, with some being left in Poland and some being left in Romania.
It is possible to transport all sort of things on any number of flights between two points.
Waffles, anyone?
197. It is difficult to say whether this account actually reflects reality,
Indeed
217. These photographs do not constitute conclusive evidence.
Dick has a double standard: While believing former drug addicts’ claims a priori, the countries he accuses are told to reverse the burden of proof to show they aren’t guilty:
224. Whilst to date, no evidence in the formal sense of the term has come to light, many coherent and convergent elements provide a basis for stating that these secret CIA detention centres have indeed existed in Europe, and we have seen that several indicators point at these two countries. As explained before, if these elements are not evidence, they are sufficiently serious to reverse the burden of proof: it is now for the countries in question to address their ‘positive obligations’ to investigate, to avoid endangering the credibility of their denials.
And why is that? Because Dick has no actual evidence:
287. Whilst hard evidence, at least according to the strict meaning of the word, is still not forthcoming, a number of coherent and converging elements indicate that secret detention centres have indeed existed and unlawful inter-state transfers have taken place in Europe.
Don’t tell me! It’s the seriousness of the acusation that counts, not the existence or non-existence of evidence.
I predict we’ll be hearing from Dick Marty for a long long time.
(technorati tags CIA, terrorism, BBC, Dick Marty)
