The US President Barack Obama makes another U-turn, recycling the Bush administration's controversial 'extraordinary rendition' exercise.

Upon taking office in January, Obama had ruled that the use of 'extraordinary rendition' was illegal under his administration. However, administration officials said on Monday that the practice will continue under the Obama White House.

The officials said that the administration will monitor the treatment of terror suspects sent to foreign countries for interrogation to ensure that they will not be tortured.

"The emphasis will be on insuring that individuals will not face torture if they are sent overseas," the New York Times quoted one administration official as saying.

Human rights advocates, however, say that 'diplomatic assurances' on the humane treatment of detainees will not constitute protection against abuse for prisoners sent to third countries with a history of torture.

The Bush administration, which had sought and received similar assurances, was proven completely ineffective in preventing torture and was highly criticized over the practice, the rights advocates argued.

Amrit Singh of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who tracked rendition cases under George W. Bush, said that she was disappointed in Obama's decision to continue the rendition policy.

"It is extremely disappointing that the Obama administration is continuing the Bush administration practice of relying on diplomatic assurances, which have been proven completely ineffective in preventing torture," Singh said.

The Obama administration is setting up a new administration unit, to be housed within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which will oversee the interrogations of top terror suspects using largely non-coercive techniques approved by the administration.

The creation of the new unit, called the High Value Interrogation Group, will formally end the Central Intelligence Agency's primary role in questioning high level detainees after years of abusive treatment complaints by lawmakers and human rights groups.

FTP/SME/MMN