 More than 300 CIA flights have landed at European airports, a British newspaper said, adding a new element to claims that Washington has been transporting terrorist suspects to secret prisons in Europe. The Guardian daily said it had seen flight logs documenting the flights by 26 planes operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Guardian said the flight logs were obtained from Federal Aviation Administration data and sources in the aviation industry. The information showed an "unprecedented" amount of travel by the agency but did not reveal which planes took part in alleged prison transfers, it said. | No doubt the WaPo revelation on CIA chartered air freight businesses made it easier for them. |
Outrage over the reports mounted in all the correct circles in Europe this week as EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini threatened sanctions on Monday for any member nation hosting CIA prison camps on their soil. The Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly has announced a probe into reports of the clandestine prisons, including one that may be in Romania. Poland and Romania have denied hosting CIA prisons. The United States has promised a timely and forthright reply to a EU letter demanding answers following the reports. The issue threatens to dominate a five-day swing through the continent next week by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, after European Union chiefs warned member states involved in the alleged scheme could face sanctions. Rice received the two paragraph letter from British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. Germany and nearly a dozen other European countries have launched their own investigations into alleged CIA flights transporting detainees via their territories. The United States has defended the use of methods outside normal legal procedures for terror suspects by arguing it is fighting a "different kind of war" against terrorism which renders traditional methods obsolete. But it contends correctly that it has not broken international law, or infringed its own constitution. |