The Hindu : International : Berlin knew details of CIA's terror flights: journal

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Wednesday, Dec 07, 2005

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International

Berlin knew details of CIA's terror flights: journal

Vaiju Naravane

Rice meets with meek response from Angela Merkel

Paris: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on a four-nation tour of Europe was received on Tuesday by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who praised Dr Rice's tough talk on terrorism describing it as "a good base for cooperation between our countries and our intelligence services."

Ms Merkel's weak response to calls for more tough questioning by European Governments over reports that the CIA was using European airspace to fly terror suspects to secret prisons for interrogation came as no surprise. German newspapers have revealed that senior bureaucrats were fully aware of these flights and on occasion even entered into deals with the CIA in order to extract more information on the terror suspects held. In comments that were markedly supportive of Dr. Rice, Ms Merkel said she agreed that "we have to face the challenges of the 21st Century... but we have to strike a careful balance. We have to stay in line with the laws we believe in."

Fuelling speculation

Talking tough just prior to her departure from Washington, Dr Rice refused to comment on the existence of secret prisons but said the U.S. did not condone torture. She also said Washington had respected the sovereignty of its allies, fuelling speculation that European Governments had been consulted or at the very least informed of these secret flights.

Clearly on the offensive, Dr. Rice said that the interrogation of suspects had helped save many European lives. The controversy over secret CIA flights through European airports carrying terrorism suspects in flagrant violation of international law could thus prove to be more damaging to European Governments than initially presumed.

Germany's respected weekly Der Speigel alleged that "Gerhard Schröeder's Government had detailed information on how the CIA operated in Europe — and said nothing. The lower echelons of the administration even co-operated actively. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is likely to expect the same silent complicity from the new Chancellor, Angela Merkel".

The magazine alleged that the former German government led by Mr. Schröeder was informed in detail and at an early stage about the policy of so-called "extraordinary renditions" and "black sites" across Europe.

Anti-U.S. facade

Cabinet Ministers in Berlin clearly knew the dirty details about U.S. President George Bush's unrestricted war on terror, the magazine said.

In some cases, German intelligence officers even tried to profit from the controversial methods by questioning prisoners who were being held without any legal foundation. Mr. Schröeder's stance on Iraq was popular and won him votes. But behind its anti-American veil, his Government was quietly complicit and was occasionally rewarded for its silence.

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