German government officials were yesterday at pains to stress that the flight list gave no indication of what the suspected CIA aircraft were carrying. Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior conservative in Mrs Merkel's government said: "I assume that the German authorities were not informed about these alleged CIA prisoner flights. If they did know about them, this would amount to a massive infringement of the European Convention on Human Rights," he added. However, the German section of Amnesty International insisted that the German authorities were aware of what the flights were being used for. "We have reported on these CIA kidnappings for some time, those responsible must have known about these flights," said Barbara Lochbihler, from Amnesty. Ms Rice is scheduled to meet with Mrs Merkel and Franz-Walter Steinmeier, her foreign minister during her visit. All three politicians will be under pressure to answers the allegations. Ms Rice has said that she will provide an answer to an EU letter of complaint on the issue complied by Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary. However, reports ahead of her visit suggested that she was in no mood to dwell on the issue. One official involved in drafting her response in Washington was quoted in the Washington Post as saying: "The key point will be 'We're all in this together and you need to look at yourselves as much as us'. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
However, the German section of Amnesty International insisted that the German authorities were aware of what the flights were being used for. "We have reported on these CIA kidnappings for some time, those responsible must have known about these flights," said Barbara Lochbihler, from Amnesty.
Ms Rice is scheduled to meet with Mrs Merkel and Franz-Walter Steinmeier, her foreign minister during her visit. All three politicians will be under pressure to answers the allegations.
Ms Rice has said that she will provide an answer to an EU letter of complaint on the issue complied by Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary. However, reports ahead of her visit suggested that she was in no mood to dwell on the issue.
One official involved in drafting her response in Washington was quoted in the Washington Post as saying: "The key point will be 'We're all in this together and you need to look at yourselves as much as us'. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
"The key point will be 'We're all in this together and you need to look at yourselves as much as us'. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
I do, indeed, hope there is some self-reflection going on across intelligence agencies, defense ministries, and political party houses all across Europe. I hope that they are asking themselves how they have come to a point that the very core of what our societies are built on is being thrown away. I hope that they are asking what is the very reason for creating limited constitutional democratic government? I hope they are asking what was the American Revolution, the French Revolution, WWI, WWII, and the Cold War all about? Weren't they about citizens protecting themselves from the all powerful state?
I want them to be asking themselves these questions.
As for the second part...if that is true, then it means that there has been even more complicity than has been acknowledged.
This is an argument that is suited for a mob, not for diplomacy. It sounds more like it is about keeping "the gang" together.
Any such attempts to silence European protest must be declined. But, on the other hand: Any European leader who knew more about CIA torture/deportation than he admits now, has to be held accounted for as well. Only a good share of public pressure will provide for that.
