With A Little Bit Of Help From The ACLU

When you're Boeing, the prospect of being sued by an Al Qaida operative is probably pretty low on your list of "things to be concerned about."

However, as far removed as such a prospect once was, it was front page news last week as Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan was sued by suspected Al Qaida operatives transported by the CIA to Arab countries for "interrogation and torture," reported the World Tribune.

The federal lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of three Al Qaida suspects May 30 in US District Court for Northern California and announced in New York.

The three were transported by the CIA, said the World Tribune, under the "extraordinary rendition program."

So what did Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan do? According to the suit, Jeppesen helped the CIA transport the three plaintiffs to secret locations in Egypt and Morocco, where the company knew they would undergo torture, reported the Middle East Newsline.

"American corporations should not be profiting from a CIA rendition program that is unlawful and contrary to core American values," ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said. "Corporations that choose to participate in such activity can and should be held legally accountable."

The suit said San Jose-based Jeppesen has been a key provider of flight and logistical support services for CIA aircraft in the rendition program. Since December 2001, the suit said, Jeppesen provided flight and logistical support to at least 15 CIA aircraft that conducted 70 rendition flights.

Jeppesen was also said to have provided aircraft crew and flight planning services for the CIA program and to have ensured customs clearance and security for CIA aircraft and crew.

The Mercury News reported that Jeppesen spokesman Mike Pound said he could not comment on the lawsuit nor could he confirm whether or not Jeppesen scheduled flights for the CIA.

"We don't know the purpose of the trip for which we do a flight plan. We don't need to know specific details. It's the customer's business, and we do the business that we are contracted for. It's not our practice to ever inquire about the purpose of a trip." The company had no comment on specifics of the lawsuit.

"We've got thousands of customers," Pound said. "Every one of them has the expectation of privacy." The company, he added, works with private pilots, companies with planes and, on occasion, governments.

Jeppesen Dataplan provides flight plans, fuel, airport data and other services to its clients.

Boeing itself is not named in the lawsuit and would not confirm a Jeppesen-CIA link, spokesman Tim Neale said. He said customers have a confidentiality clause.

"The services Jeppesen provides are provided on a confidential basis for all its customers."

Said ACLU staff attorney Steven Watt, "Jeppesen's services have been crucial to the functioning of the government's extraordinary rendition program. Without the participation of companies like Jeppesen, the program could not have gotten off the ground."

The suit was filed under the Alien Tort Statute, which permits aliens to bring claims in the US for alleged violations that involve American citizens or assets. The statute accounts for torture.

In response to a request for comment, CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said, "The CIA does not, as a matter of course, publicly discuss contractual relationships it may or may not have with firms or individuals."

The renditions, he said, "are a key, lawful tool in the fight against terror ... subject to close review and have been employed far less frequently than some press accounts suggest."

Gimigliano also said the United States does not conduct or condone torture, or transport anyone to other countries to be tortured.

FMI: www.jeppesen.com, www.aclu.org, www.boeing.com