I may take some flack for this but it cannot be stated strongly enough-
The war on terror is not new and rendition is not a new policy, however both the war on terror and rendition are reaching new lows with Bushco.
Let me explain:
(A diary from my comment in Armando's Italian Judge Orders Arrest of CIA Operatives.)
Edited for clarity.
Cooperation between nations to fight and prevent terrorism has been a matter of fact for over forty years. Allied intelligence agencies pooled and exchanged information, help capture suspect criminals and help prosecute them. Using such polices (and also due to the fact that the US was a true beacon of democracy around the world) the US was able to prevent most terrorism from reaching our shores. Although acts of terrorism indeed were occurring in the US, it was largely directed against foreign nationals finding refuge in the US.
After Gulf War I, the US came under a much more direct attack from Muslim radicals who were disturb by the heavy US presence in the Gulf. The Clinton administration responded to this new threat well (especially compared to our current performance) despite a Congress determined to thwart the Clinton administrations efforts (i.e. Congress, the Repubs, were out to lunch on this matter).
During this period there was very good cooperation between almost all nations threatened by terrorism including nations which we had been opposed to during the cold war. It was in the best interests for these nations to fight a common problem. During this time (and before) a rendition would consist of capturing and returning criminals to the correct nation with the cooperation of our allies.
Bushco EVEN BEFORE 9/11 begin breaking the traditional polices that had guided the war on terror up to that point. This is mostly due to Bushco's tendency to try and bully it's policies forward no matter what other national interests are endangered, and a complete disregard to the seriousness of the terrorism problems despite strong warnings from the previous administration and (at that time) the largely apolitical agencies in place (CIA, State, etc). This began disrupting the cooperation which existed prior to Bushco to fight the war on terror.
Now we are truly reaping the bitter harvest of Bushco policies. Without doubt, the initial intransigence of the Bushco team contributed significantly to preventing 9/11. Action taken after 9/11 has proved even more disastrous. Simply put, we quite working WITH our allies.
Now we see that we are not cooperating with one of our closest allies in the war on terror. This is a tremendous lose for the US and foretells a rather grim future. No one nation can go it alone in the war on terror - it threatens national stability on a world scale and cooperation was almost a given among targeted nations. Seeing traditional allies openly oppose the US in the war on terror shows that at a rather fundamental level the US is being shut out. The next visible steps will be the emergence of new alliances and a further marginalization of the US. (Keep your eyes on China.)
I am certainly not trying to play down the current problem. Obviously our ties with Italy have taken a beating which I doubt Ms. Rice will patch up during her time at State, but this is only a visible sign of what is probably a much larger problem. The team which has been fighting the good fight against terror for the last forty years is breaking down, and a new team is being formed. We may not be on it.