With God on our side

An Italian judge has gone ahead and indicted 31, including 26 American CIA and military officials, for their role in the kidnapping (for “extraordinary rendition” and torture) of Abu Omar in Milan. This, of course, was one of the subjects of my recent interview with Stephen Grey, author of Ghost Plane, addressing the whole CIA kidnapping program.
Kidnapping, it seems, is against the law in Italy, even when part of an expedient American policy. Although many of the indicted have assumed names, in some cases, the indicted used aliases jumbling character names from Friends and Will and Grace, in others, the Italians know exactly who they are indicting, such as the CIA bureau chiefs in Milan and Rome. As you will recall, the Italians were somewhat pissed about all this, because they were actually trying to make their own case against Abu Omar (Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr), through (get this!) a court, with actual legal and judicial process. Instead, the Americans just came, and, after charging up hundreds of thousands of dollars at luxury hotels, snatched Abu Omar off the street. This, it seemed, doubly screwed the Italians by (1) demonstrating that they could not protect someone to whom they granted political asylum from Egypt from being returned to Egypt where he would, and did, face torture, AND (2) screwing up an ongoing terrorism investigation.
But hey? Due process schmocess, as they say. Somewhere in CIA headquarters even as we speak, the Vice President is doubtless on a conference call with some of the indictees telling them that they are welcome to spend their holidays with him at one of the undisclosed locations… and who needs Italy anyway? (After all, says the Vice President, “it’s full of Italians…” ) The Vice President famously doesn’t enjoy travelling, which, given the sort of thing the Italians just did… will be a smart move, once he leaves office… the President and any number of officials may want to think about that as well…
So now as I’m leavin’
I’m weary as Hell
The confusion I’m feelin’
Ain’t no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war.