Italian prosecutors want to extradite 13 people they believe were CIA officials who kidnapped a radical Muslim cleric and took him to Egypt where he reportedly was tortured.
A man identified as the former CIA station chief in Milan is among the 13, according to court papers.
The alleged CIA agents charged with kidnapping the Muslim cleric bungled their way into an international incident by ignoring the most basic rules of the spy trade, experts say.
A former CIA operative said the operatives who snatched radical Muslim cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr on February 17th, 2003, in Milan owed more to film character Austin Powers than professional spies.
"Instead of super-sleuths, they were like elephants stampeding through Milan. They left huge footprints," said former CIA officer Melissa Boyle Mahle.
Media reports say the agents placed phone calls to CIA headquarters on unsecured lines, ran up $145,000 in bills at luxury hotels and were so indiscreet that Italian authorities became aware of their operational identities.
"Everybody knows that telephones can be traced. It's not exactly an emerging technology," said one former spy.
"The tradecraft was beyond appalling," said another intelligence official. "I'd have to wonder if these were CIA officers trained in the clandestine arts."
The abduction of Nasr, who court documents say was flown to Egypt and tortured there, threatens to damage US-Italian relations three months after US troops shot dead an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq without facing disciplinary action.
Nasr, who is also known as Abu Omar, is under investigation in Italy for possible terrorism links.
The CIA has broad powers to abduct terrorism suspects overseas and transfer them to third countries under a classified directive signed by President Bush days after the September 11th.
Agencies