Puffed Rice
The Guardian is reporting that the US' diplomat's diplomat, Condoleezza Rice will tell Britain and the EU to 'back off' on the subject of secret CIA detention centers, and their alleged attendant practices.
That Rice was going to go into full denial mode was pretty much broadcast last week..I provided color here and elsewhere(hint: do a site search)
She likely won't deny the existence of secret CIA detention centers, but will deny that the US is doing anything 'illegal.' Or maybe she'll just aver that whatever it is that we're doing must be done in order to stop the evil doers.
Via The Guardian:
More here:
No folks, she unfortunately is not joking.
I do agree with Rice that the US doesn't break international law. We mangle it into something unrecogizable, and then claim it doesn't apply to us. Is it any wonder that the US is turning into a global pariah? Nobody's gonna let the US play in their reindeer games this year.
I wonder if pushing the fear button works as well in Spain and the UK as it does here? Ms. Rice will likely find out.
'America does not allow rights abuses.' Strange. Tell those folks in Guantanamo Bay, and Abu Ghraib, Ms. Rice. I simply have not the time for your lies.
There is so much layered hypocrisy here that it's difficult to wrap your head around it all. It's a damned good thing we've had five years of practice with this stuff. Otherwise, our collective heads might explode from the utter rubbish being strewn about.
Next week(this week for my foreign visitors) looks to be a very interesting week.
Update: The Times Online has more. Quotes Scott McClellan: "When it comes to human rights, there is no greater leader than the United States of America" Intriguing. Untrue, but intriguing.
Update 2: The Independent ominously reports on the CIA 'black-sites' under the headline: "The torture files." Ouch! That has to hurt.
Update 3: The BBC is reporting on a Der Spiegel article claiming over 400 suspicious flights in German airspace. It's a pretty speculative piece, but it is another warning flag.
Read 'em all!
Any further comments will be contained within a new entry.
That Rice was going to go into full denial mode was pretty much broadcast last week..I provided color here and elsewhere(hint: do a site search)
She likely won't deny the existence of secret CIA detention centers, but will deny that the US is doing anything 'illegal.' Or maybe she'll just aver that whatever it is that we're doing must be done in order to stop the evil doers.
Via The Guardian:
[snip]...US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will inflame the transatlantic row over America's alleged torture of terror suspects in secret jails by telling Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and other European officials to 'back off'.I wonder if 'back off' is the actual language the US is attempting to convey? 'FO' would be more apt.
Rice, who arrives in Brussels tomorrow for a meeting with Nato foreign ministers, has been under pressure to respond to claims the US has been using covert prisons in Eastern Europe to interrogate Islamic militants. Human rights groups have alleged the CIA is flying terror suspects to secret jails in planes that have used airports throughout Europe, including Britain...[/snip]
More here:
[snip]...Rice's refusal to answer detailed questions on what has become known as 'extraordinary rendition' will anger many in Europe. Last week Straw wrote to Rice asking for clarification about some 80 flights by CIA planes that have passed through the UK. European politicians and human rights groups claim the flights and use of a network of secret jails breach international law.(more at link)
State Department officials have hinted that Rice's response to Straw and other European ministers will remind them of their 'co-operation' in the war on terror. She is expected to make a public statement today stressing that the US does not violate allies' sovereignty or break international law. She will also remind people their governments are co-operating in a fight against militants who have bombed commuters in London and Madrid. She will drive home her message in private meetings with officials in Germany and at the EU headquarters in Brussels.
Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said Rice told him in Washington she expected allies to trust that America does not allow rights abuses...[/snip]
No folks, she unfortunately is not joking.
I do agree with Rice that the US doesn't break international law. We mangle it into something unrecogizable, and then claim it doesn't apply to us. Is it any wonder that the US is turning into a global pariah? Nobody's gonna let the US play in their reindeer games this year.
I wonder if pushing the fear button works as well in Spain and the UK as it does here? Ms. Rice will likely find out.
'America does not allow rights abuses.' Strange. Tell those folks in Guantanamo Bay, and Abu Ghraib, Ms. Rice. I simply have not the time for your lies.
There is so much layered hypocrisy here that it's difficult to wrap your head around it all. It's a damned good thing we've had five years of practice with this stuff. Otherwise, our collective heads might explode from the utter rubbish being strewn about.
Next week(this week for my foreign visitors) looks to be a very interesting week.
Update: The Times Online has more. Quotes Scott McClellan: "When it comes to human rights, there is no greater leader than the United States of America" Intriguing. Untrue, but intriguing.
Update 2: The Independent ominously reports on the CIA 'black-sites' under the headline: "The torture files." Ouch! That has to hurt.
Update 3: The BBC is reporting on a Der Spiegel article claiming over 400 suspicious flights in German airspace. It's a pretty speculative piece, but it is another warning flag.
Read 'em all!
Any further comments will be contained within a new entry.
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