Rice says CIA thwarted attacks in Europe (AP) Updated: 2005-12-05 21:22
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice turned the tables on
European critics of tough U.S. tactics in the war on terror Monday, maintaining
that intelligence gathered by the CIA has saved European lives.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives
in Germany to start a four-country tour expected to be dogged by questions
about reports of secret CIA prison camps and 'torture flights'. Rice has
promised to provide responses to European countries increasingly concerned
that airports on their soil have been used for flights allegedly carrying
undeclared detainees in the US-led 'war on terror'.
[AFP] |
Responding for the first time in detail to the outcry over reports of secret
CIA-run prisons in European democracies, Rice said the United States "will use
every lawful weapon to defeat these terrorists."
But in remarks delivered as she got ready to leave on a trip to Europe, she
steadfastly refused to answer the underlying question of whether the United
States had CIA-operated secret prisons there.
"We cannot discuss information that would compromise the success of
intelligence, law enforcement, and military operations. We expect other nations
share this view," Rice said in a statement at suburban Andrews Air Force Base,
Md.
The secretary said that information gathered by U.S.
intelligence agencies from a "very small number of extremely dangerous
detainees," has helped prevent terrorist attacks and saved lives "in Europe as
well as in the United States and other countries."
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