The Somali “transitional” government today dismissed reports from British human rights group Reprieve that the CIA was using its territory as a base for unlawful rendition of terror suspects. Reprieve claims evidence that the CIA’s base is underneath the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu.
Prime Minister Abdilweli Mohammed Ali rejected the notion that there was a base under the palace, insisting that “I do not have that information and that information does not exist.” He did, however, insist the US was helping “improve the security situation” in their territory.
Reprieve reported its claims through the BBC, insisting that they had evidence from multiple sources, including a man kidnapped from Nairobi, Kenya and help in the underground prison. He added that the guards were Somali but that Americans had access to the prisoners whenever they wanted.
The CIA was already confirmed to have a secret walled compound within the Mogadishu international airport, and reported the transitional government’s NSA was allowing them to operate “full time” at their own underground prison, a testament to their “strong counter-terrorism partnership.”
The US, needless to say, has not commented on the latest allegations. Given the rendition program’s illegal implications, however, it makes a lot of sense for the CIA to conduct as many of its sordid activities as possible in lawless Somalia.
Achilles heal of Empire USA, the leadership so corrupted by greed and a lust for power that internal hoarding of information between groups creates a knowledge bubble that reality cannot penetrate.
“I do not have that information and that information does not exist.”
Which pretty much confirms that the rendition base exists. I wonder if the FedGov is considering bringing this artless dolt to Lubyanka – er, CIA headquarters – and giving him some remedial lessons.
I find it hard to believe that in a country so poor as Somalia they would even have a Presidential 'palace'- but then again, that part of the world has never really been known for its leaders to rule with the best interest of the people at heart. I wonder how one gets on the 'get rich quick and get out of town' list to be the next POASAC (President Of A Small African Country).
It's almost tempting to buy an island somewhere, declare war on the US, lose, and then apply for foreign aid and live like a king for the duration.
I knew this fellow in the 90s and it is well known among the Somali community in the DC area, that he suffers from a bipolar disorder. He was an apparatchik in the administration of Said Barre during the late 1980s. Honesty has never been his forte and this will be a lucrative arrangement before he comes back to the US.