Extraordinary rendition is apparently a plush gig

ok, look... i have little doubt that being an undercover cia agent ain't exactly a bed of roses and certainly not work for the faint of heart... but, as a veteran of tons of business travel both within the u.s. and internationally, this is way over the top... the snippet here presents only a partial picture of what's contained in the whole article...

When the CIA decides to "render" a terrorism suspect living abroad for interrogation in Egypt or another friendly Middle East nation, it spares no expense.

Italian prosecutors wrote in court papers that the CIA spent "enormous amounts of money" during the six weeks it took the agency to figure out how to grab a 39-year-old Muslim preacher called Abu Omar off the streets of Milan, throw him into a van and drive him to the airport.

First to arrive in Milan was the surveillance team, and the hotels they chose were among the best Europe has to offer. Especially popular was the gilt-and-crystal Principe di Savoia, with acres of burnished wood paneling and plush carpets, where a single room costs $588 a night, a club sandwich goes for $28.75, and a Diet Coke adds another $9.35.

According to hotel records later obtained by the Milan police investigating Abu Omar's disappearance, two CIA operatives managed to ring up more than $9,000 in room charges alone. The CIA's bill at the Principe for seven operatives came to $39,995, not counting meals, parking and other hotel services.

Another group of seven operatives managed to spend $40,098 on room charges at the Westin Palace, a five-star hotel across the Piazza della Repubblica from the Principe, where a club sandwich is only $20.

A former CIA officer who has worked undercover abroad said those prices were "way over" the CIA's allowed rates for foreign travel.

besides the taxpayers' money being tossed about with great abandon, the whole purpose of the assignment stinks... "extraordinary rendition" is such a vile euphemism for "snatching people off the streets and spiriting them off to a country that will have no qualms about pulling them limb from limb if it takes their fancy..."

(thanks to raw story...)

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