CIA planes may be searched by Irish authorities, says O’Dea

CIA AIRCRAFT using Irish landing facilities may be subjected to search inspections to make sure they are not involved in torture operations, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea revealed last night.

In what could herald a major policy U-turn, the Cabinet is set to discuss ordering the on-board probes.

The move follows rising public concern that US flights into Shannon and other Irish air bases may be used for “extraordinary renditions” - missions taking terror suspects to countries such as Egypt for interrogation and torture.

The Government has until now insisted it takes US assurances that Ireland would not be used for such purposes at face value.

Quizzed over whether the US should be pushed on allowing inspections, Mr O’Dea said: “There may now be some case for asking them.

“There may be a case to be made, but on the other hand, there may be a case for retaining the status quo as well. If it comes up, and it probably will be discussed at Cabinet in the not-too-distant future, I’ll have my views, which I’ll express to the Cabinet,” he told TV3’s The Politics Party.

The minister also backed calls for the US ambassador James Kenny to appear before an Oireachtas committee to discuss the highly emotive issue.

“He doesn’t have any obligations to appear as far as I know.

“I think it wouldn’t be any harm at all, from the public relations point of view not least, for the American ambassador to come to the Foreign Affairs Committee - but maybe to reassure people, and to back up what Condoleezza Rice is saying and to more fully explain their policy, it mightn’t be any harm for him to come to the Foreign Affairs Committee,” he said.

Mr O’Dea’s comments came in the wake of claims by an investigator for the Council of Europe that governments across the continent have been complicit in illegal CIA activities.

Swiss senator Dick Marty, probing American intelligence activities for the 46-nation rights group, said he was personally convinced of the existence of illegal CIA detention centres but had yet to come up with concrete proof.

Mr Marty is to present a preliminary report to the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe next week over reports that the Americans ran centres in eastern Europe where suspects were interrogated, tortured or transported to other countries in “extraordinary rendition” operations.

“The strategy in place today respects neither human rights nor the Geneva Convention.

“The current administration in Washington is trying to combat terrorism outside legal means, the rule of law,” Mr Marty said.

“Europeans should be less hypocritical and not turn a blind eye.

“There are those who do the dirty work abroad but there are also those who know when they should close their eyes when that dirty work is being done.”