by Barbara Koeppel
Torture at CIA secret sites is illegal. So too is the practice of the CIA transporting suspects to other countries where torture tactics are commonplace.
To expose and halt such goings-on, members of Stop Torture Now and Code Pink gathered last November at a rural airport in Smithfield, N.C., about 40 miles from Raleigh. Their target was Aero Contractors, a charter airline company. The activists insist that from this bucolic setting and another small airport in Kinston, N.C., called Global Transpark (GTP), Aero runs “torture taxis”—secret rendition flights for the CIA
The activists say they don’t want this dirty business starting on their turf. “Aero uses runways and hangars paid for with our tax dollars,” they argue. The activists cite a $9 million state bond and $650,000 in federal funds secured last fall by Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., to extend Smithfield’s runway.
The activists also note that Aero’s rent to Global Transpark (GTP) is just $.05 a square foot. Since Aero leases five acres—218,000 square feet—it’s just $10,890 a year. Moreover, since GTP gave Aero a credit for the $60,000 the company spent to “upfit” its hangar, Aero will park free for over five years. Someone is footing the bill, the activists argue, and that someone is the taxpayer. . ."
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