How planespotters turned into the scourge of the CIA

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk>
Date: December 10, 2005 5:43:22 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: How planespotters turned into the scourge of the CIA

Dave:

I don't know how fully the story of the information-gathering role  
played by plane spotters in the mounting controversy here in Europe  
about the CIA and "rendition" has featured in the US media, but in  
case it hasn't, you might want this for IP.

Cheers

Brian

====

From the (UK) Guardian newspaper:

How planespotters turned into the scourge of the CIA

Gerard Seenan and Giles Tremlett
Saturday December 10, 2005
The Guardian

Paul last saw the Gulfstream V about 18 months ago. He comes down to  
Glasgow airport's planespotters' club most days. He had not seen the  
plane before so he marked the serial number down in his book. At the  
time, he did not think there was anything unusual about the  
Gulfstream being ushered to a stand away from public view, one that  
could not be seen from the airport terminal or the club's prime view.

But that flight this week was at the centre of a transatlantic row  
that saw the prime minister being put on the spot on the floor of the  
House of Commons and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice,  
forced on the defensive during a visit to Europe. The Gulfstream V  
has been identified as having been used by the CIA for "extraordinary  
renditions" - abducting terror suspects and taking them to secret  
prisons around the world where they may be tortured.

The recording of flights by spotters like Paul from places as far  
afield as Bournemouth and Karachi has unintentionally played a  
significant role in helping journalists and human rights groups  
expose the scale of the CIA's renditions system. But his impact on  
such international intrigue largely passes Paul by. "It's not the CIA  
bit that interests us. You don't even know who owns the plane when  
you take down the serial number," he said, already distracted as  
something comes in to land through the grey drizzle. "You keep  
accurate logs, for your own records."
. . .

Despite the particular eccentricity of planespotting - and the  
obvious capacity for fun-poking - it is not a pastime limited to  
Britain. In Spain town planner Josep Manchado is part of a small  
group who gather with their long lenses and foil-wrapped sandwiches  
at Majorca's Son Sant Joan airport.

In January last year Mr Manchado saw a Boeing 737 on the airport  
tarmac. He pressed his camera shutter button while speculating idly  
that some US millionaire was in town. Then he put the picture of the  
Boeing (tail fin number N313P) on airliners.net, and forgot about it.

Within a few days Mr Manchado starting getting strange calls and  
emails. They came from the US and from Sweden. "People were asking me  
questions about the plane. They obviously weren't all planespotters  
because they were asking questions that people who know about planes  
don't ask," he said.

Activists and journalists had become interested in the rendition  
flights. There were also, however, strange calls. "One man wanted to  
buy up all the photos. He eventually sent me a form in which he asked  
for everything, including my home address. I didn't give it to him  
and I never heard from him again," he said.
. . .

For those prepared to sift through the endless information complied  
by planespotters and posted on websites, there are many more clues to  
the CIA's activities to be found. In Ireland peace campaigners have  
turned themselves into planespotters.

At Shannon airport Tim Hourigan uses a scanner that allows him to see  
what air traffic control sees, and he, and other activists,  
religiously note down the numbers of landing planes. Then, using a  
combination of Federal Airport Authority Records and planespotting  
websites, they can track the movements of intelligence planes across  
the world. "It is a tedious job looking through hundreds of pictures  
of planes," says Mr Hourigan, who is not a planespotting enthusiast.  
"But it allows you to confirm and expose the activities of the CIA  
and our own government."
. . .

Full story at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/ 
0,7369,1664146,00.html
--
School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon  
Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/


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