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November 29, 2005
A Strange Answer to a Simple Question
I first heard about this on our local all news radio station while I was driving home from work this afternoon. (Yes, I do go into work once a week.) It seems that the European Union's Commissioner of Justice and Home Affairs wants information from the United States about alleged secret prison camps in EU member or potential member countries. The EU has a strong position against torture and they could deny voting rights to current members or membership to applicants if they allow torture in their countries. So I would have guessed that there were several things our government could have said. They could have flat out lied and said there weren't any such camps. They could have told the EU that it was not the US's problem and that the Commissioner needed to talk to member countries. They could have even given the requested information. But no, our government decided to drag its feet and ask for more time to answer. Here is what the International Herald Tribune said in today's online paper.
The State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, when asked about European complaints that the United States had been slow to provide information on the alleged camps, said the administration would do its best "to reply in as forthright a manner as we possibly can."
In other words, McCormack gave no answer at all. But this non-answer speaks volumes. First, it very clearly acknowledges that such camps exist. Otherwise, my first option would have been the simplest way to answer and even members of the Bush administration could have thought of it. Unless of course, they have reached the point where they lie even when the truth would serve them better. Second, it shows that the US is worried about its relationships with Europe and well it should be. Whether the Administration wants to admit it or not, international cooperation in intelligence gathering is a key to limiting terrorism. So we have again gotten ourselves stuck between the preverbal rock and hard place. We cannot lie, at least to the international community, because the truth is too well known. And we cannot tell the truth for fear of alienating our coconspirators and illuminating our ability to maintain the domestic lie. So we stall to time.
Posted by Duane Smith at November 29, 2005 8:46 PM | Read more on Current Events |
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