Scott Horton Archives - accuracy.org

Our Man in Cairo

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With Mubarak’s departure, the focus now falls on his chosen successor, Omar Suleiman. According to a classified American diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, Suleiman was Israel’s pick to succeed Mubarak. But there’s little doubt that he was also the choice of the United States, or at least of one particular American agency with which he has been closely tied through much of his career, the CIA.

During the war on terror, Suleiman headed Egypt’s foreign intelligence agency and as such he was the key contact for the CIA in a number of activities, particularly including its highly secretive extraordinary renditions program. When American interrogators wanted to use the crudest torture techniques, they did so through proxy arrangements, and their first stop was in Egypt. The CIA’s Cairo station chief, who now heads the agency’s CounterTerrorism Center and who routinely briefs President Obama, developed a legendarily tight personal relationship with Suleiman. [Read more…]