CIA scandal cont.

Craig Murray, British ex-ambassador in Uzbekistan and outspoken critic of the US/UK system of torture gave evidence yesterday to the parlamentary commission. Murray: "Under the UK-US intelligence sharing agreement, the US and UK have taken a policy decision that they will get testimonies obtained under torture in third countries. I say that with regret and with certainty." (EP Website, 4/20/06) Murray hints that at least the German intelligence service might also be involved in the torture system.

The Union's counter-terrorism Coordinator Gijs de Vries is quoted by yesterday's newspapers saying that the allegations on CIA activity "(do) not appear to be proven beyond reasonable doubt." He faces wide criticism by the MEPs. Kathalijne Buitenweg, a Green MEP from the Netherlands: "the circumstantial evidence is stunning. I'm appalled that we keep calling to uphold human rights while pretending that these rendition centers don't exist and doing nothing about it." (New York Times, 4/20/06)

The inquiry into CIA torture activities and it's connections to Europa are now in a crucial stage: it's simply not very smart of the governments and the Union to claim that their passivity towards the American torture system will solve the problem. The unwillingness to fully undisclose all information simply shows how strongly a revision of the European security and intelligence policy towards the US is needed.