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FEBRUARY 10, 2009
Rendition Case Under Bush Gets Obama Backing

By EVAN PEREZ
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration backed the Bush administration's 
arguments in a lawsuit involving the practice of seizing terror suspects 
abroad and sending them to third countries for questioning.
The case involves five men who claim U.S. operatives abducted them and sent 
them to be tortured in other countries. The men are suing a unit of Boeing 
Co., which they say provided aircraft to the Central Intelligence Agency for 
the "extraordinary rendition" program. Boeing declined to comment on the 
case.
Monday, Justice Department lawyers told the Ninth Circuit federal appeals 
court in San Francisco that the government believes state secrets and 
national security would be put at risk if the court allows the suit to 
proceed. That is the same argument the department used under President 
George W. Bush.
The move came as Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a review of all 
assertions of the state-secrets privilege, aiming to ensure that the 
argument isn't used to hide from Americans information they have a right to 
know, the Justice Department said.
While President Barack Obama has promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison 
and revoke other Bush antiterror policies, he is moving more cautiously on 
renditions. The practice dates back at least to the Clinton administration, 
and Obama officials have signaled they will continue the policy while 
seeking assurances that suspects aren't tortured.