Ethics Newsline®

“Our top choice would be to win the war on terrorism and declare an end to it and repatriate everybody. The next best solution would be to work with the home governments of the detainees in order to get them to take the necessary steps to mitigate the threat these individuals pose.”

– A senior Defense Department official, discussing the government’s efforts to accelerate the transport of terrorist suspects to foreign countries. While the program would have wider oversight than the current CIA program of rendition, in which suspects are sent to nations where abuse and torture are common, critics say safeguards are insufficient both for U.S. security and for the prisoners, reported the New York Times. (“Pentagon Seeks to Transfer More Detainees From Base in Cuba,” New York Times, Mar. 11)