Extraordinary rendition: expanding the circle of blame in international politics

Abstract

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been abducting individuals from across the world and flying them to other states with the knowledge, and even intent, that they are tortured in order to collect intelligence. Placing blame on the USA, or at least the CIA, in this case is therefore unproblematic. The capture, transportation or housing of an individual with the intent to inflict harm means that the USA has placed itself as a key actor and so can be directly blamed. However, claims can also been made against other states who aided in these rendition programmes by sharing intelligence, by allowing the use of their facilities or simply by being aware and not acting. Ascribing blame to these states is difficult as their involvement is often unclear, unnecessary or far removed from the activity itself. To better understand their involvement this paper will argue that complicity, and therefore blame, should not be considered so strictly, and that instead it is better to think of a spectrum of involvement. This allows a more flexible understanding of blame, making it possible to evaluate those who are more removed from the torture and in doing so argue that more states should be implicated than originally thought.