Europeans Say Rice Allayed Concerns

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she took European concerns about treatment of detained terrorism suspects seriously, and European foreign ministers said she “cleared the air” by assuring them that the U.S. does not allow torture and respects the Geneva Conventions.

Rice gave no guarantees, however, that detainees would not be abused again.

“Will there be abuses of policy? That’s entirely possible,” Rice said.

“Just because you’re a democracy, it doesn’t mean that you’re perfect.”

She said, however, that any abuses would be investigated and violators punished. “That is the only promise we can make,” Rice said.

The secretary said she welcomed the debate as an opportunity to explain U.S. intentions and obligations.

“I think it’s only natural that sometimes we have these discussions,” Rice said at a news conference at North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters.

The comments came on her final day of meetings with European leaders on a trip that has seen the spotlight stolen daily by questions about secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and U.S. policy on treatment of detainees. But the friendly words among diplomats did not necessarily portend that the uproar would subside.

The issue has had a high profile in the United States, where it has added to the controversy over President Bush’s war policies. It also has stirred outrage among many Europeans.

In the month since reports emerged of secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe, the issue has threatened to undo Rice’s efforts to heal rifts with Europe that have festered since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The war and Bush remain highly unpopular in Europe.

Thursday’s comments by Rice and the European diplomats seemed to indicate both sides are content to agree to disagree on some issues, at least for now.

“Given the assurances she has given that the United States will act in conformity with its own constitution and its own laws, and it will also act in accordance with international agreements, I think that we have gotten guarantees and all the satisfactory answers we can hope for,” Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said Thursday.

Only two days earlier, Bot had called Rice’s explanation inadequate.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that the storm had blown over.

“It is my impression that Secretary Rice ... cleared the air. You will not see this discussion continuing” at NATO headquarters, he said.