“There’s never been any publicly available EVIDENCE (emphasis mine) that Abu Omar was himself a terrorist or had assisted in terrorism, and he denies any illegal activity. The CIA may have wanted to interrogate him because he attended a mosque reputed to include al-Qaeda supporters. No one has ever charged Abu Omar with any crimes.”

And yet Abu Omar was kidnapped by “CIA officials on the streets of Milan in 2003 and transported him back to Egypt for interrogation and torture by Egyptian officials. Abu Omar had been a legal immigrant to Italy after fleeing religious persecution in Egypt. The 40-year-old was tortured so badly – torture he alleges included electrical shock tortures and genital torture – that he emerged from Egyptian custody several years later unable to walk without a cane and suffering from permanent incontinence.”

This case comes down to whether you believe or not that we are ALL entitled to our constitutional right to due process or Habeas Corpus and whether or not torture or extraordinary rendition is lawful or unlawful (not to mention immoral).

Nothing changes – Mussolini to Muslims.

S: I checked and found both spellings. There’s a local restaurant here that spells it the way I did. But to keep you happy, I’ll change it. Thanks. I never claimed to be an Italian expert. DS

As for the CIA agents, well it goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished. We can only hope Obama doesn’t reciprocate the Italian hostility towards those who give their lives to keep our country and its “friends” safe. And yup, we need an “ally” like Italy like we need enemies.

NF: It’s not just that they released one then, it’s that they’ve been releasing Achille Lauro hijacker terrorists even more recently, and, as you know, I’ve written about it here (see links I just put up in the piece). Thanks for reminding us. DS