Brits Slam Rice-Talk

Extraordinary and unacceptable

Leader
Tuesday December 6, 2005
The Guardian

Condoleezza Rice does not seem prepared to explain very much when she meets European leaders facing mounting pressure about the US policy of "extraordinary rendition" - flying terrorist suspects round the world to secret jails where they are allegedly tortured beyond the reach of any legal system. Broadly speaking, the message from the secretary of state as she embarked on her trip to Berlin, Brussels and points east yesterday was a blunt "trust and cooperate" on the basis that we are all in the same boat in the "war on terror".

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"bland assurances will not now make this row go away...
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David Sheffer, a former US ambassador for war crime issues, blames the "warped interpretation" of international law by the US since 9/11.

Dr Rice did not deny that rendition was taking place, only that the US does not knowingly send people to be tortured. So why are "enemy combatants" sent to countries like Egypt, Libya and Syria, with such bad records in this area? Rendition is damaging in other ways: innocent people have been detained and witnesses been unavailable for trials because the US will not admit it is holding them. Fighting terrorism isn't easy. But legality and morality have to go hand in hand. How can democracies upbraid China, Syria, Iran or Zimbabwe if "our" unacceptable human rights abuses are unchecked. Dr Rice should address these concerns and speak the truth. So must our own government.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,12780,1659242,00.html

Let's hope this is not posturing and that the British public demands answers about what is happening secretly throughout Europe because BushCo wants it so.

Because we know we're gonna get an unbelievably large pile of bullshit :eyes: