t r u t h o u t - Sidney Blumenthal: Condi's Trail of Lies

Rice seems like a real monster. Rita and Katrina seem tame in comparison. This article gives more detail than most on the inside stroy of her invasion (sorry, visit to) Europe.

t r u t h o u t - Sidney Blumenthal: Condi's Trail of Lies: " Rice arrived as the enforcer of the Bush administration's torture policy. She reminded the queasy Europeans that their intelligence services, one way or another, are involved in the rendition of hundreds of suspected terrorists transported through their airports for harsh interrogation in countries like Jordan and Egypt or secret CIA prisons known as 'black sites.' With her warnings, Rice recast the Western alliance as a partnership in complicity. In her attempt to impose silence, she spread guilt. Everybody is unclean in the dirty war and nobody has any right to complain. 'What I would hope that our allies would acknowledge,' she said, 'is that we are all in this together.'

For the European leaders, facing publics hostile to U.S. policy in Iraq and torture, Rice's visit was disquieting. In Italy, prosecutors have issued indictments of 22 current and former CIA operatives for their 'extraordinary rendition' of an Egyptian suspect; among those indicted is the former Rome CIA station chief, whom an Italian judge has ruled has no immunity from prosecution. Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, asked about renditions, said, 'We know absolutely nothing. We have not one single piece of knowledge.' If the Italian government knew the facts, it would investigate, he added.

In Britain, the Foreign Office released a diplomatic disclaimer that it has 'no evidence to corroborate media allegations about the use of UK territory in rendition operations.' But upset members of the House of Commons have launched a parliamentary inquiry into whether the U.K. has violated the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Foreign Minister Jack Straw sent Rice a letter requesting any 'clarification the U.S. can give about these reports in the hope that this will allay parliamentary and public concerns.'

When the Washington Post reported on the eve of Rice's trip that"