Britain to press US for answers on CIA 'terror camps'

Britain to press US for answers on CIA 'terror camps'

LONDON, Nov 22 (PG) - Britain is to write to the United States on behalf of the EU about the alleged existence of US secret service prisons in Europe, the Foreign Office in London said Tuesday.

"At the request of several delegations, the UK, acting as presidency (of the European Union), agreed to write to the US authorities seeking clarification of their reaction to the allegations of CIA terror camps in eastern Europe," a spokeswoman told AFP.

The request emerged out of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. No timescale was given but the spokeswoman said the letter would be sent "quite soon".

The call comes amid increasing concern from a number of states in the 25-member bloc about the way the US spy agency handles suspected Islamic extremists as part of anti-terrorism activities.
(snip/...)

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=5423

sitting around in a special circle talking about who gets to go to heaven.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/23/weu23.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/11/23/ixworld.html

Straw asks US to answer claims that it runs secret jails for terror suspects
By David Rennie in Brussels
(Filed: 23/11/2005)

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, has been obliged by European Union colleagues to write to the United States government, seeking a reaction to reports that Washington has been running illegal secret prisons in Europe, where terrorist suspects may have been tortured. Britain holds the rotating presidency of the EU until the end of the year. In that role the Government agreed to write to the Bush administration, at the request of several foreign ministers during a meeting in Brussels on Monday, a British presidency spokesman said.

Judges, prosecutors and ministers in several European nations, including Spain, Germany and Italy, have been trying to investigate the reports. It has been claimed that America's Central Intelligence Agency practises "extraordinary rendition", capturing detainees from third world countries and sending them into a shadowy global network of secret interrogation sites.

Some of the "secret prisons" are in allied countries which have dubious human rights records, it has been reported. Spain is one of several countries investigating allegations that its airports were used by the CIA's fleet of unmarked executive aircraft, as unregistered "ghost detainees" were flown around the world. The Washington Post, citing government sources, reported this month that the CIA had been interrogating suspected al-Qa'eda captives at a secret site in eastern Europe.

European Watchdog Steps Up CIA Probe


( Come on, Everybody! Sing Along!!

"I'm Proud To Be An American La la la la la la -And rate it) )

By JAN SLIVA, Associated Press Writer 17 minutes ago

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Europe's top human rights watchdog stepped up its probe into alleged secret
CIA detention centers Wednesday, while more EU governments were investigating possible CIA flights across their countries.


Council of Europe Chairman Terry Davis urged European countries to provide full information on the issue, joining a formal probe the body launched two weeks ago. Austria's air force was investigating allegations that a CIA transport plane containing suspected terrorist captives flew through the neutral country's airspace in 2003, and Denmark said it would ask U.S. authorities for details about the alleged transport of detainees on planes said to be used by the CIA over Danish territory.

Bulgaria was the latest country to deny reports of involvement, saying the CIA's planes never landed at the Sarafovo airport near the Black Sea port of Burgas as alleged by the media.

The flights have become an issue in many European countries amid reports that U.S. intelligence may have transported suspected al-Qaida members and others through Europe en route to secret prisons in eastern Europe and other countries for interrogation.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051123/ap_on_re_eu/eu_secret_prisons

but it still could be anti-* Administration.

heh...gee...they don't think Bush can do that job?