The origin of rendition

There were some interesting points made regarding rendition on PBS.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: For decades, the United States and other countries have used renditions to transport terrorist suspects from the country where they were captured to their home country or to other countries where they can be questioned, held or brought to justice.

The span of decades makes is less credible that the EU is as ignorant of the nature of rendition as they would officially make themselves out to be, implied by the move to for investigative probes into CIA flights.

Another interesting quote from the PBS piece:

REUEL GERECHT: Well, I think it was built upon the close relationships the agency built particularly with Egypt and Jordan in the mid 1980s. I mean, counterterrorism bureaucratically takes off at Langley around 1984-1985. And you have relationships develop.
I think the pivotal moment might be 1995-1996. I mean that's what you usually hear from people who work at Langley, that that's when a rendition came into the form more or less that you know it today.

That means that rendition came into the current form during Clinton's first term. Tenet was appointed deputy director of the CIA in 1995. It appears that elements that make up the current U.S. practice of the War on Terror were in place as early as a decade ago.