There's gonna be Hell to pay...

Italy Judge Orders Arrest of 13 CIA Agents - New York Times

Filed at 9:28 a.m. ET

ROME (AP) -- An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 CIA agents for allegedly helping deport an imam to Egypt as part of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts, an Italian official familiar with the investigation said Friday.


The agents are suspected in the seizure of an Egyptian-born imam identified as Abu Omar on the streets of Milan in February 2003, according to the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Call me crazy but it looks as if one of our little pet "Coalition of the Willing" has gone and started an international incedent due to the way we treated one of their citizens. I am guessing that Mr. Berlusconi is going to become persona non grata in the White House in the very near future.

This looks on the surface like something that will blow up into a very noisy and public shitstorm that with its public investigation might just get some media attention focused on the cloak and dagger dealings of the "Extrrordinary Rendition" crowd.

the idea that the CIA would kidnap and exoprt people, even suspected terrorists, to jurisdictions where they were to be tortured has always sat badly with me. I hope that the findings of this court case will help to dismantle the apparatus that allows this kind of thing to happen.

Once there are no more protections of law for citizens, there is no more protection of anything.