“Condi’s European torture”

What a show this week during Condoleezza Rice’s trip to Europe seeing people outraged because of the fact that the CIA might have been able to lock terrorists in European jails! If the Secretary of State had not been diplomatic, she would have cancelled her trip categorically and announced that she would only return when the politicians of the continent were willing to behave as adults.
This is part of the European obsessions with regard to the imminent arrival of fascism to the United States whereas it’s in Europe where new dictators appear every decade. And when this happens, Europe shouts for help and Washington do its best to fulfil its job. The last time this happened was some years ago when the United States put an end to Milosevic’s reign, which had devastated Europe for a long time. It would be good to see Europe, once at least, thanking us and being able to help the United States with the security problem it faces even if they do it because Islamic terrorism is also affecting European security. Instead, Ms. Rice had to put up with everything they said about the so called “secret jails” where terrorists that have murdered more than 3 000 Americans are locked up.
And we say the “so called” because it’s impossible for the CIA to act without the authorization of the involved countries. On the contrary, in most cases, the American government beats terrorists “thanks to the close collaboration of our secret services with the foreign services”, as Ms. Rice recalled. The “Surrender” measures that include the participation of different national services in the transportation, imprisonment and questioning of the terrorists are the exact kind of weapon pro-multilateralism Europeans should like in the war on terror.
But when the Washington Post published an article about these “secret jails”, the whole thing was a hypocrisy festival. British minister Jack Straw said, on behalf of the European Union, that he was shocked and demanded an explanation and the European Commissioner for Justice threatened the member states that had supported the United States by referring to the serious consequences this might have, including the prohibition of voting in European institutions. The anti-American press dominating Europe was set in motion.
Why? Mainly because of opportunism and political cowardice. Those countries supporting the United States in the war on terror should be congratulated. However, the European press has done nothing but publishing stupid stories on how the United States treats its prisoners. Thus, the anti-American demagogues have a wonderful opportunity to add fuel to the fire where the European political friends don’t even have the courage to refute.
Ms. Rice’s words firmly recalling that the United States does not torture anybody in Europe or other places should be enough for Europeans. Besides, if the CIA’s reports are true, in those “secret jails” there are just a dozen of high ranking leaders of Al Qaeda, including the man who organized the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The cruellest interrogative method used against these terrorists is the “Waterboarding” that gives people the feeling of being drowned. It’s a cruel method but it’s also used with American soldiers as a preparation for the interrogations. We believe many Europeans would accept it if they knew it could prevent a new Madrid.
Before and after 9/11, the European secret services have collaborated closely with the United States. Those who haven’t are the political leaders, the representatives of the people that refuse to recognize this collaboration and to defend its moral necessity. This is less dangerous for the United States –we have the means to defend ourselves- than for Europe. The Europeans should think of what could happen when the American public opinion does the same to them, when Europe would beg the Yankees to liberate it from one of those fascists it creates so well.