Rice to face furore over CIA prisons
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will vigorously defend America’s fight against terrorism when she arrives in Europe today amid uproar over reports of terrorist suspects being held in secret CIA prisons.
In the most heated transatlantic row in a year, European politicians and the media have expressed outrage over claims that the suspects are in custody in so-called “black sites” in eastern Europe.
Revelations that the CIA has used European bases and airspace for hundreds of clandestine flights have only fuelled the row.
The Bush administration, however, made clear Sunday that Rice will take on critics when she responds to an EU request for “clarification” to “ allay parliamentary and public concerns.”
While she is not expected to confirm or deny the existence of the sites, she will suggest that anything the CIA does has the approval of host governments.
Stung by what many U.S. officials see as a two-faced approach by some allies, she will also call on European governments to argue more forcefully with their own citizens that co-operation with the CIA is vital for their security.
I n a p review of h e r t r i p, Stephen Hadley, Rice’s successor as President George W. Bush’s national security adviser, said, “There is a lot of co-operation at a lot of levels.
“One of the things she will be saying is: ‘ Look, we are all threatened by terror’,’’ he told Fox News. “We need to co-operate in its solution.’’
The administration has long argued that its actions in the fight against terrorism comply with the U. S. constitution, U. S. law and U. S. treaty obligations, claims challenged by human rights groups.
But since the publication in the Washington Post of the report about the CIA prisons, the administration has faced a new difficulty: European officials have argued that secret CIA prisons would violate European law.
Hadley foreshadowed Rice’s riposte, saying, “We respect the sovereignty of those countries with whom we co- operate.’’
This is seen as diplomatic code for saying that anything the CIA does in Europe is done with the permission of the host country.
Daily Telegraph