Wow, this has to be arecord for double talk

A CIA spokesperson in Washington said: "We're not even not commenting. We're saying: if we have anything to say, we'll get back to you." The U.S. embassy in Rome declined comment.
CI A Speak

Italy, Interpol track purported CIA men
ARREST WARRANTS: Italian prosecutors want to bring 13 purported CIA officials to trial, accusing them of kidnapping a Muslim cleric and aiding his torture in Egypt

AP , ROME
Thursday, Jun 30, 2005,Page 6

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Italian prosecutors want to extradite 13 purported CIA officials accused of kidnapping a radical Muslim cleric and transporting him to Egypt where he reportedly was tortured, and they've asked Interpol to help track down the Americans, a court official said on Tuesday.

A man identified as the former CIA station chief in Milan is among the 13, according to court papers.

Egyptian cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr -- also known as Abu Omar and believed to belong to an Islamic terror group -- was seized on Feb. 17, 2003 in Milan, purportedly as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program in which terror suspects are transferred to third countries without legal approval.

The extradition effort and arrest warrants filed in the case marks a rare public objection to the practice by a close US ally in its war on terrorism. Opposition deputy Marco Minniti called the Nasr abduction "the most serious violation of national sovereignty in the history of the republic."

US officials defend the practice of "extraordinary rendition," saying they receive assurances that terror suspects handed over to foreign governments won't be tortured. They acknowledge, though, that once a transfer occurs, the US has little control.

Prosecutors have asked Interpol help in tracing the suspects, all identified as US citizens, said the court official who asked not to be named because the inquiry is still under way.

In announcing the arrest warrants on Friday, the Milan prosecutor's office said it will ask for US and Egyptian assistance in the case.

The 213-page order notes the arrests are needed in part because the suspects' links to "foreign intelligence services" give them the particular ability to destroy evidence in the case and hinder the investigation.

Among the 13, according to court papers, is a man identified as the former CIA station chief in Milan.

The US Embassy in Rome, the CIA and Egyptian officials have declined to comment.

Premier Silvio Berlusconi's government will respond in parliament today to demands to know whether Italian officials were involved, the leftist opposition said.

Court officials said they had no evidence of Italian involvement. But Vince Cannistraro, a former leading counterterrorism official in the CIA, said he doubted the US government would launch such an operation in an allied country without coordinating first with the government.

A report published Thursday by The Washington Post, quoting current and former CIA veterans, revealed that the CIA informed Italy's intelligence service about its plan to kidnap an Islamic leader in Milan two years ago.

However, neither the Italian authorities nor Washington have officially acknowledged the abduction.

On Friday, the Corriere della Sera daily in Rome reported that a judge had issued arrest warrants for 13 CIA agents.

The Imam’s kidnapping fueled anti-U.S. feelings in Italy.

On February 17, 2003, Abu Omar, or Usama Mustafa Hassan, was snatched by two Italian-speakers who claimed they want to check his identity in a street of Milan.

The Imam has been missing since, the paper said.

Abu Omar was the former imam of a Milan mosque; placed under close watch, following the Sep 11 attacks in the United States.

The CIA is accused of kidnapping the Muslim Imam and transferring him to the U.S. military base at Aviano in Italy, and from there to Egypt, where he was put in jail.

Italian Judge Chiara Nobili issued the request of the anti-terrorist division of the state prosecutor's office.

Among the 13 wanted CIA agents is the alleged head of the operation, who was an accredited diplomat with the U.S. consulate in Milan in 2003, the Italian daily said.

A CIA veteran told The Washington Post on Thursday that the CIA "told a number of people" about its kidnapping plan, but "certainly not the magistrate, not the Milan police".

The CIA station chief in Rome, who retired at that time but remains undercover, sought approval from his counterpart in Italy for the operation, the agents said.

But it remains unclear how far up the chain of command the information was shared or whether the office of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was aware, according to the Italian newspaper.

CIA officials say that the operation was conceived by the Rome CIA station chief and organized by the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, and approved by the CIA leadership and at least one person at the National Security Council.

The officials added that it was standard practice for the CIA and its Italian counterpart to agree to keep official silence on the covert kidnapping operation if it became public.

The Post said it was informed by Knowledgeable intelligence officials that the CIA has conducted at least 100 such operations since September 11.