CIA verdict in Italy challenges Obama on renditions

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell noted that the Italian government shared the U.S. view that a NATO treaty should have shielded Air Force Colonel Joseph Romano from trial outside the United States. Washington had asserted jurisdiction.

"The minister of justice in Italy agreed with us ... and had, in fact, asked the court to respect our jurisdiction claim," Morrell said.

The Pentagon, in asserting jurisdiction in September, acknowledged that previous attempts to find "diplomatic or legal solutions" had failed. The United States has never acknowledged any CIA operation to kidnap Nasr.

The convicted former Milan CIA station chief, Robert Seldon Lady, said in an Italian newspaper interview published in June that he was only following orders and described himself as a soldier in the Bush-ear "war on terrorism".

"I'm not guilty. I'm only responsible for carrying out orders that I received from my superiors," Lady told Il Giornale newspaper.

The convictions came as the United States is debating the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects who were in U.S. custody and whether to prosecute the officials responsible.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder named a prosecutor in August to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against CIA interrogators or contractors for going beyond approved interrogation methods.

(Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky)