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Rice fails to reassure Europe on covert CIA operations
07-12-2005
By Mark Beunderman
EU Observer:
US foreign secretary Condoleezza Rice's visit to Berlin on Tuesday (6 December) has led to irritation, after her aides contradicted remarks by German chancellor Angela Merkel that Ms Rice had admitted "mistakes" on CIA operations.
Mr El Masri, a German national from Lebanese origin, was abducted last year by the CIA from Macedonia to Afghanistan where he was held for five months, until it turned out that he was the wrong person.
Ms Merkel said, according to press reports, "I'm pleased to say that we spoke about the individual case, which was accepted by the United States as a mistake..."
Although Ms Rice in the press conference did not directly respond to the German leader's remarks, some of her senior officials later on Tuesday rebuffed Ms Merkel.
One official is quoted as saying by Reuters that "We are not quite sure what was in her [Ms Merkel’s] head", explaining that Washington had informed Berlin about the El Masri case, but never said it had been a mistake.
Meanwhile, Mr El Masri himself has sued former CIA chief George Tenet before an American court, claiming damages, but he was refused entry into the US on Saturday.
German media highlight the El Masri row as a sign of continuing transatlantic tension, during a trip by Ms Rice which European politicians hoped would provide clarification on alleged covert operations of the American intelligence agency.
CIA planes landing at European airports are alleged to have been implicated in the practice of "rendition", the extra-judicial seizure of terror suspects, while the intelligence agency allegedly also runs secret prisons for suspected terrorists in eastern Europe.
The affair is having far-reaching diplomatic consequences, with the Netherlands, a staunch US ally, being one of the most outspoken critics of he US stance.
Speaking before the Dutch parliament on Tuesday, the Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot said that Ms Rice had "not been able to give a satisfactory answer" to European concerns over CIA operations.
He announced that a "tough discussion" with Ms Rice will be held on Thursday, when the US secretary will attend a NATO meeting in Brussels, according to Dutch daily De Volkskrant.
Meanwhile, American TV station ABC reported that two CIA prisons in Poland and Romania were closed only a few days ago.
Eleven terror suspects were reportedly carried from these countries to an unknown north African country for security reasons, according to the report.
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