Aspects of U.S. tactics in conducting the global war on terrorism have come under increasing international scrutiny, as allegations have emerged in recent years of possible illegal activity by U.S. and international intelligence agencies. On September 6, 2006, in an address that was part of a series of speeches on the war on terrorism, President Bush provided new information on the capture and detention of suspected terrorists since September 11. He announced the transfer of 14 terrorist suspects to the U.S. military facility at Guantanamo Bay from CIA custody in locations outside of the United States. While the central thrust of the speech promoted the President's proposal to use military commissions to try terrorists, it also provided for the first time official acknowledgment of the existence of a previously classified international CIA program to detain and question suspected terrorists and operatives. The Washington Post , and subsequently several other news sources, had reported on a CIA network of secret detention facilities in November 2005 (see background section, below), but U.S. officials neither confirmed nor denied their existence until the President's speech. According to President Bush, the CIA program remains vital to the security of the United States and has "saved innocent lives" by providing key information to intelligence agencies that helped prevent terrorist attacks on the United States, identifying further suspects, and revealing details about how al Qaeda operates. President Bush stated that the CIA program detained "only a limited number of terrorists at any given time." He also said that, with the announced transfer of the 14 detainees to Guantanamo, there are "now no terrorists in the CIA program." President Bush said he would not reveal where the CIA's detention facilities had been located, how many of them there were, or how many suspects had been questioned under the program. He stated that the program, reportedly set up pursuant to a secret presidential directive he issued September 17, 2001, was subject to multiple legal reviews and conducted by carefully selected and screened CIA officers. He reiterated that "the United States does not torture." Administration officials claimed that the President's address would resolve unchecked media speculation about secret prison sites. By consolidating detainees in a single site at Guantanamo with some international access, they said the United States and its allies could "turn a page" on the matter of unknown classified detainee locations. Others, however, believe that President Bush's announcement has only fueled greater interest into the U.S. program and the practices of U.S. intelligence agencies overseas. In Europe, especially, numerous international organizations and human rights groups have been seized with this issue for some time. Some European officials have said that the President's announcement has given new impetus to the importance of their ongoing investigations and future inquiries. In addition, as the Administration has asserted the right to revive the CIA program in the future, the topic may not just concern past practices but also ongoing policies. Additional details about the detention and transport of terrorist suspects continue to emerge from state investigations and judicial proceedings in some European countries. In one high-profile case in Italy, prosecutors have accused 26 Americans, allegedly CIA agents, with involvement in the abduction of an Egyptian cleric from Milan in 2003. Other cases, as well as national inquiries into local official involvement in terror suspect transfers, may follow. There are significant differences of opinion within the world community as to which legal regimes govern the arrest and detention of suspected terrorists. The Bush Administration has characterized the arrests and detentions as the wartime capture and internment of combatants. Other states, however, may not share the view that the "Global War on Terrorism" is an actual armed conflict taking place on all territories, in particular with respect to operations carried out on their own territory. They may regard their obligations under international law with respect to persons arrested in, transported through, or detained on their territory in terms of human rights treaties in addition to or in lieu of humanitarian law. There may also be differences with respect to the interpretation of substantive provisions of the various treaties and other sources of law. This report provides background information regarding the controversy and discusses the possible legal frameworks that may apply. It is based on available open-source documentation, as cited, and not on any independent CRS investigation into factual allegations. It focuses on protections accorded to persons under international law, and is not intended to address intelligence operations or policy. It also focuses primarily on the allegations relating to Europe, although the practice extended elsewhere, and includes in its Appendix a status discussion concerning the relevant investigations conducted by the European Parliament and the Council on Europe. After September 11, periodic news stories addressing the conduct of the global war on terrorism would focus on the capture, treatment, and extra-judicial transfer of suspected terrorists from U.S. custody to third countries. A November 2, 2005, Washington Post story went beyond earlier reporting on terrorist transfers and described a global prison system set up by the CIA after the September 11 terrorist attacks. This system reportedly extended well beyond publicly known U.S. detention centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to include secret facilities (referred to as "black sites") in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan, and "several democracies in Eastern Europe." The newspaper said it was withholding the names of the European countries at the request of senior U.S. officials. It said that the CIA set up the facilities under its covert action authority. The internment policy, as reported, in some cases incorporated the already known practice of extraordinary rendition, in which covert means are used to detain terrorist suspects and transport them to certain countries for purposes such as interrogation. Shortly thereafter, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that its independent research corroborated the Washington Post allegations about the existence of detention facilities in eastern Europe. Utilizing flight records, HRW's research asserted that the CIA made use of airfields and other military facilities in Poland and Romania to move prisoners to and from Europe, Afghanistan, and the Middle East in 2003 and 2004. It said that these sites in Poland and Romania could therefore be possible locations for the alleged secret detention facilities. On April 5, 2006, Amnesty International (AI) released a report on the U.S. rendition program. It cited the cases of three individuals who allege that they had been detained by the United States, held in secret facilities, possibly in Djibouti, Afghanistan, and "Eastern Europe," and eventually released. The report speculated that the sites in Europe could have been located in the Balkans or South Caucasus states. AI officials alleged that "literally thousands" of CIA flights have been carried out into Europe for detention in black sites and rendition outside of Europe. The allegations made in these and other reports triggered several actions by international organizations in Europe. In particular, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have taken the lead in launching inquiries and formal investigations. The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, issued a preliminary legal opinion on member states' obligations on human rights and treatment of detainees. The U.N. Human Rights Committee recommended in July, 2006, that any secret detention facilities be abolished and that all detainees enjoy full legal protections. Most of these efforts have involved inquiries into European, rather than U.S., actions, in accordance with the mandates of those institutions. By the end of 2006, none had found specific evidence to confirm the existence of the U.S. secret prisons in Europe. However, various additional allegations about aspects of European government cooperation with U.S. intelligence have been raised and investigations into possible violations of human rights obligations continue. Moreover, the allegations and disclosure of the CIA program have spurred greater European public interest in U.S. intelligence activities in Europe and European oversight, or lack thereof, over such activities. [A status discussion concerning the reports and findings of the European Parliament and Council of Europe inquiries is included in the Appendix .] Some international reaction to President Bush's disclosure of the CIA program, especially in Europe, was skeptical. Terry Davis, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, called it "just one piece of the truth." In particular, many officials have called on the United States to reveal the location of the sites, which the Administration has stated it will not do. Officials leading the European investigations said that the disclosure justified their further inquiries. On the other hand, some observers have suggested that European governments may not be eager to insist on investigating CIA activities in Europe too closely, or provide information that might reveal their cooperation with the CIA. Some European investigators have complained bitterly about what they charge has been only limited cooperation in their inquiries from European governments. Since September 11, the United States and many European countries, as well as the European Union as an institution, have promoted intensive trans-Atlantic cooperation on counter-terrorism and judicial processes. U.S.-European cooperation in countering the terrorist threat has been a consistent theme of annual U.S.-EU summits. U.S. officials often emphasize the close U.S.-European relationship in information and intelligence sharing and in law enforcement efforts. Before President Bush's disclosure in September 2006, U.S. officials refrained from publicly responding to allegations on U.S. intelligence activities, including alleged detention sites beyond U.S. detainee operations in Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq. They would neither confirm nor deny the existence of a global detention program, or allegations regarding specific sites and their locations. Shortly after the Washington Post story broke in late 2005, Secretary of State Rice addressed several aspects of U.S. conduct in the war on terror to the international media in the context of her trip to Europe in December 2005. She elaborated on policy aspects related to the transfer of terrorism suspects and common challenges and dilemmas faced by Europe and the United States in prosecuting the war on terrorism. Among other things, she asserted that the United States fully upholds and complies with its laws and treaty obligations, which prohibit acts of torture or other cruel and inhuman treatment.