A Europa "dark America" panty-twist party is no fun if you are slapped into sobriety. And slapped hard.

Ms. Rice on her way to Europa refuses to change any soiled nappies for the spluttering press and signals the continent's craven political class that they can play dumb but if they act dumb, well, sovereign Euros are free to hold as many tea parties for terrorists as they like. There is nothing inviolable about plush Euro heinies to an Islamite holding a grudge about the Battle of Tours. Bonne chance, good riddance.

SECRET CIA FLIGHTS HELPED US SAVE LIVES, INSISTS RICE

WASHINGTON December 6, 2005 (Telegraph) - Intelligence gleaned by the CIA had saved European as well as American lives, Condoleezza Rice said yesterday in a riposte to critics of America's approach to the fight against terrorism. Miss Rice reiterated President George W Bush's insistence that America did not torture detainees, saying that "every lawful weapon" was used to defeat terrorists.

She also hinted strongly that anything the CIA did on European soil was with the support of host governments.

"It is up to those governments and their citizens to decide if they wish to work with us and decide how much sensitive information they can make public," she said. "They have a sovereign right to make that choice."

The story subsequently is further backpaged with government servlings meekly issuing innocuous acknowledgements where once the mighty fulminated.

FRANCE ACKNOWLEDGES US "ASSURANCES" ON FLIGHTS

PARIS December 6, 2005 (AFP) - France said Tuesday it had taken note of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's "assurances" on the alleged CIA programme to fly suspects to secret prisons for interrogation.

"We have noted the assurances given by Madame Rice concerning the full respect by the US for the sovereignty of European states ... and their respect for their international obligations" concerning the UN ban on torture, said foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei.*

He also said France had no new information concerning two flights in 2002 and 2005 which may have carried CIA detainees via French airports.

Excellent editorial at WSJ on phony Europa hand-wringing over CIA operations. Apparently Europa politicos haven't a clue what is going on under their very noses. We strongly suggest the various electorates vote in some knowledgible, competent leadership.

CONDI'S EUROPEAN TORTURE
Mock Outrage Over "Secret" Terror Prisons.

If the Secretary of State weren't so diplomatic, she'd cancel her tour and say she won't come back until the Continent's politicians decide to grow up. ... We put "secret" in quotes because the CIA could hardly carry on operations in Europe without the knowledge of the countries involved. Rather, as Ms. Rice dryly put it, the U.S. often engages "the enemy through the cooperation of our intelligence services with their foreign counterparts." ... The broad reality, of course, is that European intelligence and security services have been helping the CIA in fighting terror, both before and after 9/11. ... The failure has come at the level of political leadership, where elected officials refuse to acknowledge such cooperation, or to defend its moral necessity. The danger here is less to America--which will continue to protect itself in any case--than it is to Europe. The phony outrage over American anti-terror practices will only make it harder for European governments to take the actions required to stop terror on their soil--witness French paralysis in the wake of the recent riots.

Worth the full read.

[The below footnote is in error, mistaking Jean-Baptiste Mattéi, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, with Jean-François Mattéi, the former health minister during the French heat deaths crisis of 2003. Pave apologizes for the error.]

* You may or may not remember the hapless M. Mattei. He used to be the French Health Minister. That was before 14,800+ largely preventable deaths of elderly French on his watch. At the time M. Mattei said he personally "did not have the feeling of having made a mistake" during the disaster. And now, dear reader, now he is a colorless minion of the foreign ministry. Political careers are rarely ruined in France, one just trades washroom keys.

PFFT (What is this?): France takes a note 3 | Rayonnement français 0

Bonjour,

[M. Antibrits/Antiyankees has left another of his off-topic same-olds. In his frothing French. It has been deleted.

Joyeux Noël,
The Management]

re: previous comment - I am delighted that you are able to type your comment in French & not German ... because of the Brits & the Yanks
Next time German invades ... you are on your own!

Bonjour,

Monsieur Free Market,

1)Mon grand-père est mort victime des nazis le 22/6/40.
Que faisaient vos deux grand-père le 22/6/40 ?
a)Ils encaissaient les profits de la loi "Cash and Carry" ?
b)Ils allaient aux conférences du Nazi US Charles Lindbergh ?

2)L' Allemagne vous a déclaré la Guerre. Après le 7/12/41.Vous ne faisiez que vous défendre:il se trouve que pour vaincre votre agresseur vous deviez passer par la France.Mais vous avez laissé la Pologne etc aux mains de Staline…

3)La Deuxième Guerre Mondiale est largement de votre faute.La France vous avait dit en 1918 que l 'Allemagne était folle et pourtant vous nous avez trahi en 1918 en ne nous soutenant pas (trahison du Congrès US lors du traité de Versailles).

4)De toute manière vous nous devez l 'existence, vous yankee , à nous Français et nous n 'en faisons pas tout un plat…

Free market thank you very much ! you've got no idea what a relief this is, go and torture elsewhere indeed

or even better, stay home and never come back ever again, the French would rather take their chances alone or even speak German for that matter.