German Papers Fried Rice and Mashed Merkel
It is hard not to hear the glee as commentators in Germany type their editorials and widely condemn the Bush administration for its involvement in the 2003 CIA abduction, and alleged torture, of Khaled al-Masri, a German national of Lebanese descent. This time around, however, journalists are also asking firm questions of members of the former government of Gerhard Schröder -- how much did they know, when, and why didn't they act?
It's been a hairy week for German-US relations. On Monday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin for what was meant to be a cozy chat to restore a battered friendship. Instead the relationship received a further blow when the German chancellor announced in a press conference on Tuesday that Rice had privately admitted the US had made a mistake in the al-Masri case. Whether Merkel's comments were intentional and brave or mistaken and foolhardy, is not quite clear -- the chanceller has not sought to clarify her comments and Washington is continuing to deny the veracity of the statements.
The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung takes up most of its front page with a made-up CIA job ad entitled "Torturers Wanted." The "position" calls for applicants with foreign language skills in Arabic and Urdu, experience in use of electronic technology and a valid pilot's license. It offers, in return, work as part of a motivated team and private use of the firm's fleet of jets. "Job applications, together with salary expectations and earliest dates of availability should be sent to: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington." A companion front-page commentary relishes Washington's current discomfort, "in particular in view of the fact that questions (regarding torture) are being asked in America itself." The entire issue concerning alleged CIA torture, and whether Condoleezza Rice actually privately admitted to errors being made, have at least one advantage for the German government: "Chancellor Merkel has had the opportunity to learn fast-track that acting according to conviction doesn't necessarily always win respect."
The financially daily Handelsblatt takes a more serious tone, saying "nothing is clear: the US secretary of state's visit has provided no answers to the question of how much Germany is affected by CIA abductions." Although Merkel has clearly stated that the US has committed grave errors, it is now important to begin the long arduous process of finding out who in Germany knew what and when they obtained that information. According to this commentator it is hard to overestimate the significance of the al-Masri case, in which a German citizen was held, and allegedly tortured, by the CIA. "The case is so sensitive because it touches on our relationship with our most important non-European allies and the cooperation of the secret services. Unfortunately, the sluggish explanations offered by both the American administration and the German government have contributed to the feeling that something underhand is going on."
The conservative daily Die Welt appears to be equally unconvinced about the motivations of the governments involved. "It is not particularly reassuring when the largest power in the Western world is forced to claim that it does not torture prisoners," the paper writes. "It is even more alarming when no one believes these assertions -- something which will remain difficult as long as Vice President (Dick) Cheney continues to actively call for legalization of torture in American secret prisons." The paper goes on to differentiate between the government's war policy and what the majority of Americans believe to be correct. "For many Americans, including a lot of Republicans, the manner in which Bush is waging the war against terror is seen as particularly 'Un-American behavior.' This means that the German government is able to present its point of view all the more decisively. Abductions and ill-treatment of German citizens, especially without consultation with the relevant judicial authorities, is absolutely intolerable."
The left-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung delves deeper by analyzing exactly what the role of the German government has been, and still is, in the affair of the al-Masri case. "The question of whether the then-German government did everything in its power to help (al-Masri) after being tortured remains completely unanswered. It looks rather like this is not the case. ... It would certainly cast a dubious light on the record of the former Social Democratic-Green Party government, if it turned out that it profited from a conflict with the United States in the run-up to an election, while at the same time turned a blind eye while the American intelligence service broke the law." However, the commentator goes on to say that Merkel's public claim on Wednesday that the Bush administration had privately accepted the error of its ways in the al-Masri case has now made the issue a problem for the current government. The paper sees Merkel's comment as on the borderline between brave and foolhardy. "It has put Angela Merkel, who until recently was greeted by the United States as a carrier of hope, suddenly into the role of her predecessor as far as sympathy with the White House goes. In addition to this, her comments could have legal implications which could prove very important in trials both in Germany and the United States." Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a civil case on al-Masri's behalf against the CIA.
