Posted on 09/01/2003 6:45:53 AM PDT by Eurotwit
Ashcroft pleads his case in Norway
US Attorney General John Ashcroft was granted a half-hour early Monday to discuss the war on terrorism with Norway's foreign minister. The fate of terror suspect Mullah Krekar was high on the agenda, even though Ashcroft refused to publicly mention Krekar by name.
US Attorney General John Ashcroft (left) met briefly with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen in Oslo early Monday.
PHOTO: JON HAUGE
"The Americans are very, very concerned with Mullah Krekar," claimed Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen after his meeting with Ashcroft ended.
While Norway supports anti-terrorist efforts, clear differences exist over how terrorist suspects should be treated. Mullah Krekar, who's had refugee status in Norway for years, is no exception, even though he's a former leader of the muslim extremist group Ansar al-Islam.
Ashcroft reportedly had already met the proverbial brick wall when he earlier talked with Norwegian supreme court justices on Friday. They made it clear that Norwegian courts can't extradite terror suspects to countries where the suspects' rights may not be respected or where they face the death penalty.
Norway has always maintained strong opposition to the death penalty, which is practiced in the US. Norwegian officials also have voiced concerns over the US' treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Aiming for exceptions Ashcroft, at a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart late Friday, Justice Minister Odd Einar Doerum, diplomatically tried to gloss over the differences between the two countries, saying he was grateful for Norway's cooperation in the war on terrorism.
"Norway is one of the most valuable partners the US has," Ashcroft claimed, before he left to spend the weekend with Norwegian relatives on the west coast.
On Monday, the US attorney general known for his conservative viewpoints, made another effort to win support for the US administration's desire to deal with terror suspects itself.
While the US hasn't made a formal extradition request for Krekar yet, Ashcroft called the Ansar al-Islam group "very dangerous." He claimed that the extradition of terror suspects from Norway to the US isn't unthinkable.
He said he wanted to make it clear that differences of opinion between the US and Europe on subjects like the death penalty aren't necessarily a hindrance to cooperation in the war against terror. He noted that other European countries have extradited suspects to the US, on the condition they not be sentenced to death.
Asked whether that was a possibility in Krekar's case, Ashcroft indicated it could be a possibility.
'Clear differences' He declined to comment on how Norway itself, which allowed Krekar to travel freely in and out of the country even when he was leading Ansar al-Islam, has handled Krekar.
After Ashcroft left the Foreign Ministry to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, Petersen noted there were clear differences of opinion between the Americans and the Norwegians. He said the Norwegian delegation again mentioned its concerns about both the death penalty and the treatment of prisoners in Cuba.
ahh norway, once again showing that their only contribution to the world is "quisling" to the lexicon.
Well, I do think that is bit too harsh. There are the moments Norwegian troops in harms way both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we did invent the Cheese slicer :-)
That said, the current state of Norwegian politics or Norwegian society for that matter is not very encouraging.
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