Banco!
Posted on 12/29/2005 11:44:15 AM PST by Jordi
MILAN, Italy -- When the CIA decides to "render" a terrorism suspect living abroad for interrogation in Egypt or another friendly Middle East nation, it spares no expense.
Italian prosecutors wrote in court papers that the CIA spent "enormous amounts of money" during the six weeks it took the agency to figure out how to grab a 39-year-old Muslim preacher called Abu Omar off the streets of Milan, throw him into a van and drive him to the airport.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Don't sweat the cost. The gov't will print more.
I would look at the details, but I don't believe in providing the ChiTrib, NYT, or LAT with hits.
CIA agents think they are James Bond and live accordingly when under cover.
It's a perk for a sometimes dangerous job that otherwise does not pay well.
Well that, and USAA insurance.
Number of operatives tracked: 20
Length of stay: From 5 to 42 days
Total room charges: $158,096.56
WHERE POLICE SAY CIA OPERATIVES STAYED
From Jan. 8-Feb. 19, 2003; amount spent at each for room charges*
Westin Palace $40,098.81 Principe di Savoia $39,995.36 Milan Hilton $21,266.67 Milan Marriott $17,089.29 Star Hotel Rosa $15,280.95 Excelsior Hotel Gallia $5,595.24 ATA Hotel Executive $4,951.19 Four Points Sheraton $4,928.57 Others $8,890.48
* Not including food and other services
I don't know what upsets me more: government waste, or the fact that Italian prosecutors have esoteric details of a covert CIA operation.
"Italian prosecutors wrote in court papers that the CIA spent "enormous amounts of money" during the six weeks it took the agency to figure out how to grab a 39-year-old Muslim preacher called Abu Omar off the streets of Milan"
"Westin Palace $40,098.81 Principe di Savoia $39,995.36 Milan Hilton $21,266.67 Milan Marriott $17,089.29 Star Hotel Rosa $15,280.95 Excelsior Hotel Gallia $5,595.24 ATA Hotel Executive $4,951.19 Four Points Sheraton $4,928.57 Others $8,890.48"
Should have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. Would have figured it out a lot faster.
And the good news is that Abu Omar is off the streets and still being tortured in an Egyptian prison. Money well spent. Except in the eyes of the terror sympathizers at the Chicago Tribune.
Its a blatant waste of taxpayer money and if these idiots and their spymasters were any good at their jobs they would not have been caught by the Italians.
It is easy to spend too much when those Euros all look like Monopoly money.
Why don't we just give the enemies the names and photos of our spies while we are at it?
Sounds like the Italian prosecutors had a chip on their shoulder for some reason.
Money well spent. This terror master is being tortured in an Egyptian prison and is not orchestrating terror attacks which would cause millions of dollars in damages and the deaths of innocent people.
It is just sad that we have essentially reached the point in this country that we cannot have a covert intelligence operation anymore. The media and their friends in the agencies and in Congress will not allow it.
But Spataro (Italian prosecutor) - , noting that Milan police already had Abu Omar under surveillance and were preparing to arrest him on charges of recruiting foreign fighters to go to Iraq, declares that "the Abu Omar kidnapping did not save any human life."
When the Italian police asked the CIA if it had any idea where Abu Omar had gone, the agency's written response was that it believed he had returned to Albania, where he lived for several years before obtaining political asylum in Italy.
Spataro has added the CIA official who wrote the memo and the former Rome station chief to the official list of suspects in the case, which makes them liable for arrest if they return to Italy.
Whatever.
When I send my salesmen out of town, I expect them to stay at the Four Seasons, have a good steak dinner, have some drinks, and/or blow a hundred on a bottle of wine, preferrably with the customer.
As a result, they like to work for me, and I get good results.
Money well spent.
It's no different here.
Banco!
This info was not leaked. It was discovered by the Italians because the CIA officers involved were incompetent.
Funny how the liberals at the Chicago Tribune have suddenly become advocates for the U.S. taxpayer...
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