How naïve of course it will hinder cooperation if you cant agree on what you are cooperating on. Trust the State Dept to be obfuscatory. Bruce http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/ap/2006/09/11/europe/EU _GEN_Italy_US_Terrorism.php U.S. official says disagreement over counter-terror policies should not hinder cooperation The Associated Press <http://www.iht.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?query=ROME&sort=swishrank> ROME A visiting U.S. official said Monday that disagreements between the U.S. and Europe over anti-terror policies should not get in the way of fighting terrorism.
Cooperation between the U.S. and Europe has been hampered by controversy over U.S. policies and practices, "especially those related to the detention, questioning and transfer of suspected members of al-Qaida," U.S. State Department legal adviser John Bellinger III said at a counterterrorism conference in Rome. "To cooperate effectively, we must overcome the divide that has developed across the Atlantic," Bellinger said at the conference, which was attended by U.S. ambassador to Italy, Ronald Spogli, and Italy's Interior Minister Giuliano Amato. The one-day conference, held at the Center for American Studies, gathered dozens of scholars, students and security experts. It coincided with worldwide commemorations of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Some in Europe including Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Council of Europe used the day to reiterate criticism of controversial global methods of fighting terrorism and to urge more attention be paid to human rights. U.S. President George W. Bush recently acknowledged for the first time that the CIA was running secret prisons overseas. EU lawmakers and civil rights campaigners had long called on U.S. officials to admit using a network of secret prisons and transferring prisoners between them on covert flights as part of the U.S.-led war on terror. Controversy also sparked over alleged prisoner abuse at the U.S. detention center for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Many in Europe have called for its closure. Bellinger said concerns over alleged abuse of detainees "have snowballed into an avalanche of suspicion and politicized investigations that now threaten to undermine a level of cooperation between our governments that is absolutely vital." "To bridge the growing divide between the United States and Europe, we need to improve the quality of the dialogue on counterterrorism," he said. Meanwhile, bells tolled in Rome's Capitoline Hill for one of several ceremonies throughout Italy commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. "9/11 will be in our memory forever," Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said during the ceremony attended by about 100 people. "We all remember where we were, what we were doing, what our first reaction was." Veltroni said he would rename a few streets in the Italian capital after the victims of the attacks. "And on this day we want our American friends to feel our closeness and our friendship," the mayor said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
