The head of the CIA testified to the 9-11 Commission in 2004 that prior to terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, the U.S. had undertaken over 70 such renditions, adding that the Counterterrorist Center at the CIA had "many successes". One presumed "failure" was the retention of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was flying home to Montreal in 2002, was detained by the US authorities at JFK Airport, and then escorted through Jordan to Syria, where he said he was tortured and kept in a grave-like cell for 10 months. Arar was finally cleared by a Syrian court and sent back to Canada, where he has not been charged with any crime.
The practice of rendition is thought to have increased dramatically since 9-11, and in addition to suspects being handed over to foreign countries, detainees have also been sent to U.S. bases overseas, like Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Tenet said rendition remains one of the principal strategies employed against the threat of international terrorism.