Remember back in 2005 when we published this photo of the airplanes being used to transport prisoners to Bush's European gulags?

We pointed out then that this was no executive jet for transporting onesies and twosies--this was a transport plane, capable of transporting hundreds.

And we asked then, "How many prisoners are in Bush's European gulag?"

It only took a year, but now we have something close to an answer. AP:

In the few short years since the first shackled Afghan shuffled off to Guantanamo, the U.S. military has created a global network of overseas prisons, its islands of high security keeping 14,000 detainees beyond the reach of established law.

If the statistics from Abu Ghraib, Gitmo itself, and the very few domestic cases Bush has managed to bring to trial are any indication, the great majorituy of the prisoners are innocent of any crime except, perhaps, Breathing While Muslim.

Now, Bush claims he's closed down the European gulags:

In his Sept. 6 speech, Bush acknowledged for the first time the existence of the CIA's secret prisons [So I guess it was OK for the press to break the story, then], believed established at military bases or safehouses in such places as Egypt, Indonesia and eastern Europe. That network, uncovered by journalists, had been condemned by U.N. authorities and investigated by the Council of Europe.

The clandestine jails are now empty, Bush announced, but will remain a future option for CIA detentions and interrogation.

But why should we believe Bush after so many other lies? He has shown many times is without honor, and will have just flown that batch of prisoners somewhere else.

"Can you say 'blowback', boys and girls? Good. I thought you could. I'm proud of you!"

NOTE What are we going to do with the innocent ones, anyhow? Keep them in jail forever? Kill them?