Posted on 12/04/2005 7:36:31 PM PST by REactor
The German government has a list of at least 437 flights suspected of being operated by the CIA in German airspace, according to a German magazine.
The weekly Der Spiegel said two planes alone accounted for 137 and 146 uses of airspace or landings in 2002 and 2003.
"Such planes could be used to transfer presumed terrorists and place them in secret locations," Der Spiegel said.
The issue is likely to be raised when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Germany on Monday.
Ms Rice said earlier this week she would provide an answer to a EU letter expressing concern over reports last month alleging that the US intelligence agency was using secret jails - particularly in eastern Europe.
A US rights group, the American Civil Liberties Union, said it was taking the CIA to court over what it said was the violation of both US and international law.
The highly secretive process is known as "extraordinary rendition" whereby intelligence agencies move and interrogate terrorism suspects outside the US, where they have no American legal protection.
Some individuals have claimed they were flown by the CIA to countries like Syria and Egypt, where they were tortured.
'Unfortunate timing'
The list of suspected CIA flights was handed over by German air traffic controllers at the request of the Left Party, Der Spiegel said in its latest edition to be published on Monday.
It said the aircraft had made landings in Berlin, Frankfurt and the US airbase at Ramstein.
However, the list has not shed any light on what the planes were carrying, the BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin reports.
A German government spokesman said the list allowed only to know "how many times which planes of which companies flew in German airspace or landed at German airports".
The timing of the report is unfortunate for Ms Rice, as the issue is likely to be raised directly during her talks with new German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week, our correspondent says.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had already expressed concerns about the reports of CIA flights during his meeting with US officials in Washington last week.
Horrors!/sarcasm
ACLU ping.
It's terrrrrrrible.
I don't know who to be more mad at. The CIA for not planning enough to get caught or the ACLU.
We can arrange it so CIA flights never again stop at the airbase at Ramstein...by removing the airbase at Ramstein and letting these ungrateful weasels do without American protection for good.
The next days' festivities would include assisting feeding the Iraqi children from the backs of GI military ground vehicles.
Then, they too, could dodge IEDs, RPGs and sniper fire from their friendly "insurgents."
The ACLU really twist my shorts.
/rant
I think they would be more worried about us leaving and having less of our money.
Back in the days when every American citizen fought on the same side it was called, 'loose lips sink ships.'
Too bad they didn't drop some bombs on the way out.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1534070/posts
more here.
Rice to claim Euro backing for CIA prisons
The Democratic Party, the ACLU, and the large number of leftists inside the CIA all care more about the "rights" of terrorists than the safety of innocent Americans.
Good for the CIA!
All this talk of Ramstein reminds me of an email going
around some years ago. Google tells me I can find it here;
http://www.390th.org/bulletin/fall2003/descendantscorner.htm
Glad you knew where (how!) to look.....what did you use as a search term?
Classic.
I remembered it as a 'BA pilot travelling through frankfurt in 1944' so my google terms were 'ba frankfurt 1944'. This led me to the text I wanted, but a ways down the page. Once getting to the actual text, I googled the text and came up with the link that I posted.
BTW, love your tagline!
Are they suggesting the terrorists did not have German passports?
Something simple like the need to refuel a military aircraft for a flight across the Atlantic just totally escapes them.
I'm shocked!
Let's ask this question! What is the "probability" of us doing that; getting clearance, ATC, maintenance, fuel, taxi, parking, security (Yes you will need that too if you're moving people)........, without the government of Germany knowing that? Let's think about that really hard!
Der Spiegel is the German version of the NYT's. Ultra liberal and secular this paper is a leftist rag. Unfortunately the Germans as a whole have a bit of this socialist, anti-American we are victims and the bad hegemony imperialistic oil hungry Bush Cowboy is at fault attitude. People like Schroeder silently play along under the table but work against us in Iraq and elsewhere when it benefits their career. They are like the decedent Romans. They don’t even know who their friends are and who the threat is so twisted is their world view through their ideology and politically the leadership panders to this whims rather than stand up to and speak out.
They should thank us. We are taking out "their" trash as well. But don’t expect them to be that wise. No, some politicians who earlier probably silently went along with it now see a opportunity to politically exploit this situation to their advantage-now that it’s a new government under CDU/Merkel leadership the black eye and pressure is on her, despite the fact that Schroeder and the former government had to know and go along with it too. It’s laughable! NOTHING is off limits in German politics, even their OWN security is played with.
When a country operates like this, what can you expect but decline?
Red6
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