Rice's Big Gap

From the IHT via the NYT(sounds very hip-hop) this article illustrates the various obstacles that the US needs to overcome in order to claim any sort of moral high ground.

I should state that I have been very skeptical of any and all claims from the WH. The CIA has been much more frank about their business.

They spy. They do some things that we'd rather not ever know about. So would the CIA. But it is what it is. I have a lot of respect for the individual agents working for the 'Agency.'

However, some of their schemes have turned out to have very negative effects for the US, and the world at large. Saddam's coup and support of ObL are currently the most newsworthy folks propped up by various means in the name of defeating the spread of Communism.

Shorter CIA: Good people, sometimes questionable policy.

Getting to the IHT article. I'm just going to mine the article for quotes to illustrate the issues with which Dr. Rice is contending. Without further ado:

Did anybody believe her on this Continent, aroused as rarely before by a crescendo of reports about secret prisons, CIA flights, allegation of torture and "renditions" of prisoners to third countries so they can be tortured there?

"Yes, I did," Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a conservative member of the German Parliament, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "The thing I believe is that the United States does obey international law, and Mrs. Merkel said that she believes it, too."

"What's important is that the balance between democratic principles and secret services needs to be maintained," zu Guttenberg said. "I take it as a reaching out of the hand when she says mistakes have happened and we have to rectify them."

Two things:

1) Why is it that partisans are always ready to publicly believe even those that they surely must know to be serial liars?

2) I totally agree with the last part of zu Guttenberg's assessment. Spies need to be able to spy, but there is a line that needs to be drawn that is only crossed in the most extreme of circumstances.

From the Left:

"I think what she means is, 'We don't use it[torture, secret detention] as an official way to do things, but we don't look at what is done in other countries,"' said Monika Griefahn, a Social Democratic member of Parliament, referring to Rice's comment on torture. "And that's the problem for us."

I'd have to agree that this is essentially the point that Rice has made, and is going to continue to make. The bigger problem for me is the almost 'non-coverup'. The Administration seemed to be weighing the level of political fall-out while not addressing European concerns. Kind of a 'let's see just how bad this gets before we stick a toe in the water.'

The European view, by contrast, is that they understand the terrorist threat perfectly well, but the Bush administration's flouting of democratic standards and international law incites more terrorism, not less. It is not certain that Rice changed many minds on that score in her recent statements.

"She didn't reassure anybody," François Heisbourg, special counselor at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said in a telephone interview. "She just spouted a kind of 'the end justifies the means' argument, and 'we have saved lives.'

"You should at least bring proof of that," Heisbourg said, "citing at least one example of an aborted attack."

It is unclear just how many attacks the US(worldwide?) WoT has prevented. The US press has reported as few as 10 attacks prevented, and as many as 100(many of these being in the planning stage). Of course the press only amplifies the WH's message. The numbers and all other details are national security secrets.

Lastly, from the center, an American's view.

"The Europeans' lack of realism is a big problem, but I'm also frustrated with the inability of the United States to behave like a successful big power," said John Kornblum, a former American ambassador to Germany, now director of the investment bank Lazard-Frères in Germany.

"The Europeans do have this propensity," he continued, referring to the propensity to put the worst possible interpretation on American actions, "but unfortunately, we have given credibility to that sort of behavior."

(much more at link)

And that, my dear readers is Ms. Rice's uphill battle.