France seeks help from its EU partners

For the first time, an EU member country has activated a largely unknown solidarity clause. France also wants military aid from its partners - and EU defense ministers have pledged support.

Deutsche Welle, 17 Nov 2015

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described the meeting as "emotional" after the first morning session in Brussels. She had called the terrorist attacks in Paris an attack on the roots of our civilization, and added that Europe expected support in the fight against terrorism from all its neighbors - including Arab countries. It was, she said, "a very sad day" for France and Europe but also an opportunity to demonstrate solidarity.

Common ground

How the European Union expressed its solidarity surprised even veteran Brussels-watchers: France unearthed the largely unknown Article 42, Paragraph 7 of the Lisbon Treaty to request the assistance of its European partners - which they agreed unanimously.

Mogherini even explained it to journalists, on the assumption no-one had heard of it: if a member state "is the victim of armed aggression on its territory," other members have "an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power," in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.

It does not trigger a common EU military mission, but rather bilateral aid. Many EU members offered France support, either materially or in other areas, to relieve French forces.

French Defense Minister Le Drian (l.) and EU Foreign Policy Chief Mogherini at
a press conference in Brussels

Deciphering French needs

Defense Minister Yves Le Drian then made it a bit clearer about what his country wanted from its partners in its hour of need. He began by describing the sympathy his colleagues had warmly expressed to him and his country, even in French - a special kind of attention from the ministerial round, which mostly communicates in English.

But what does his government want in concrete terms? Evidently more than just better communication between the respective intelligence services.

France cannot do everything alone, Le Drian said. Others, he said, could provide military assistance to French missions in Syria or Iraq or other operations - and he explicitly mentioned French commitments in the Sahel region, the Central African Republic and Lebanon. The EU, he said, should find out what it could do together, whether in the Middle East or elsewhere - and he urged the member states to act as quickly as possible.

France is at the limits of its ability to project power, thanks to its commitment to a variety of military missions in various African and Middle Eastern countries. And now, an additional 3,000 troops are to be deployed for internal security, to guard public places and facilities.

Why not NATO?

"This is a political act, a political message," Mogherini said about the mutual assistance pact. Asked why Paris had not invoked the NATO solidarity clause as the US had done after the attacks of September 11, 2001, she said common European defense was the first response.

The French government is probably not only concerned about military aid. As for the type of support, Mogherini said this was a question of bilateral agreements and technical discussions between the partners. The different defense policies of the member countries and their abilities would be taken into consideration, she said.

This means that there may be tasks for Germany, although Berlin has so far rejected any military involvement in the Middle East. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen promised and offered her French counterpart to provide relief to France in Mali. The French would also be very interested in Germany's experience working with Kurdish fighters.

Related Article:

World leaders seek coordinated response to 'IS' terror at G-20

Obama leads chorus of world outrage over Paris attacks

Yahoo – AFP, 14 Nov 2015

Rescuers cover a victim killed during one of several attacks in the French capital

Paris, on November 13, 2015 (AFP Photo/Florian David)

US President Barack Obama led a chorus of global condemnation of a wave of attacks in Paris on Friday that left more than 120 people dead, as nations pledged solidarity with France.

The coordinated killings reverberated around the world after shootings by gunmen shouting "Allahu akbar", explosions and a hostage-taking at a popular concert venue in the French capital.

Countries such as the United States, Britain, Spain and India, which have experienced their own mass-casualty attacks, were among the first to voice their condemnation.

"It's an attack not just on the people of France. But this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share," Obama said in an address at the White House.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to work with the French people and with nations around the world to bring these terrorists to justice and to go after any terrorist networks that go after our people."

In London, where 52 people were killed and hundreds wounded in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in 2005, British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We will do whatever we can to help."

Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, the foreign minister of Spain, where 191 people were killed in train bombings in 2004, raised the specter of a jihadist attack.

The Mexican Senate building in Mexico City is illuminated with the red, white

 and blue colors of the French national flag on November 13, 2015 after attackers

kill at least 120 people in Paris (AFP Photo/Yuri Cortez)

"All of this confirms that we are facing an unprecedented challenge, a hugely cruel challenge," he told public television TVE.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country was hit by two major attacks in 2006 and 2008 that saw a total of 355 people killed, said on Twitter the "news from Paris is anguishing & dreadful".

'Black Friday for France'

France's Jewish community was among the targets of the last attacks Paris in January and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added his voice to the condemnation.

"Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with French President Francois Hollande and with the people of France in our common battle against terrorism," he said.

Netanyahu told France's Jewish community -- the largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world -- after the January attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket that they would be welcomed with open arms by Israel.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, where twin bombings on a peace rally in Ankara last month killed 102 people, offered his condolences.

"As a country that knows very well the manner and consequences of terrorism, we understand perfectly the suffering that France is experiencing now," he said.

Red, white and blue lights illuminate One World Trade

 Center in New York on November 13, 2015 in solidarity

with France (AFP Photo/Louis Lanzano)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani branded the attacks "crimes against humanity" as Tehran announced he would postpone a scheduled trip to Paris.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini tweeted that she was "in the process of following with pain and dread the events in Paris".

"Europe is with France and the French people," she said.

Angela Merkel, the chancellor of neighboring Germany, said she was "profoundly shocked by the news and images from Paris", while Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders tweeted: "Shocked and appalled by new attacks in #Paris. Words are not enough."

And in Australia, where a lone gunman reportedly shouting Islamist slogans killed a man outside police headquarters in Sydney last month, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said "this is indeed a black Friday for France and for the world".

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised the French people for their response, describing France as "the home of freedom".

"It is a global struggle for freedom against those who seek to suppress it and seek to assert some form of religious tyranny; a threat in the name of God but is truthfully the work of the devil," he said.

'Appalled and outraged'

Elsewhere in Asia, where people woke up to the news from Paris, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan of Singapore, which raised its alert level, said "this is a terrible assault on a beautiful city with warm, cheerful, hospitable people".

"We must not let the terrorists divide us or destroy our spirit. I know the French spirit will prevail," said Balakrishnan, adding that he would be in Paris for global climate change talks starting at the end of this month.

The Philippines government, which is preparing to host the annual Asia-Pacific

 Economic Cooperation summit on November 18-19, said the Paris attacks 

demanded "heightened security from all of us" (AFP Photo/Jay Directo)

Philippine President Benigno Aquino's government, which is preparing to host the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on November 18-19, said the Paris attacks demanded "heightened security from all of us".

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke of "these tragic times for the French people" as he condemned "in the strongest ways this barbarous act."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei added that Beijing was "profoundly shocked", saying "terrorism is a common challenge, which the whole (of) humanity is facing".

Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah tweeted that "these brutal, barbaric & coward attacks show that terrorists have no religion... Global efforts must eliminate terrorism."

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan, for his part, condemned "this act of terror... this brutal carnage" while Japan's foreign minister Fumio Kishida said he was "shocked and angry".

In New York, One World Trade Center, the skyscraper built on the site of the September 11 attacks of 2001, was illuminated in blue, white and red in tribute to the French flag.

"We are reminded in this time of tragedy that the bonds of liberte, egalite, fraternite are not just the values French people share, but we share," Obama said in Washington, referencing the French national motto.

"Those go far beyond any act of terrorism or the hateful vision of those who perpetrated the crimes this evening."

#ParisAttacks The world is illuminated with the colours of the French national flag #AFP pic.twitter.com/LajADxqNpU

— Stephanie Beauge (@sbeaugeAFP) November 14, 2015

'Peace for Paris' symbol goes viral https://t.co/Tf940hGkrm #ParisAttacks #PeaceForParis #AFP pic.twitter.com/V2HHN0eVJm

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 14, 2015

Related Articles:

Dutch Muslim organisations condemn ‘barbaric’ Paris attacks

EU reaches out to Arab world to combat terrorism

"Revelations of Darkness" - Oct 1, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ .. Do Not Despair

There's too much information to give you in one channelling, in one sitting, so I refer to past messages for you to better understand and reference the information in order to get the bigger picture. So I wish to remind you of something I also told you in a recent channelling called Do Not Despair. You're winning! It's because you're winning that the dark consciousness on this planet is feeling it, and the humanity that represents darkness is pulling out everything it has to survive.

It Has Always Been There

Let's look at it, because it's all over the news. Are you shocked at the sudden existence of the organization that will remain unnamed [for this channelling]? Where did it come from? How could it be so organized? How could it be so well funded? This organization could have its own country soon! They might as well name it, “The Old Energy Dark Country”, for that's what it will represent.

The barbaric past of humanity comes forward to show its face. It has always been there, hiding under the rocks and between the cracks of civilized humanity. It couldn't show itself until now, but now it has to. It's ugly and it's not for the faint at heart, is it, dear ones? Seeing evil personified in Human action is abhorrent. It is so ugly and so dark that you cannot look upon it with a gentle heart. God is not a part of it and this is obvious.

You're winning! Light is winning! The uprising of dark consciousness would not have shown itself with this strength, or this quickly, if this were not so. This is exactly what I told you to look for, and it is proof that those representing this dark consciousness are in trouble. Dear ones, dark consciousness has always had a tried-and-true system. It lurks in the shadows and influences all the power places of the planet - government, commerce, finance. Suddenly, it can't hide there as well anymore and it's out in the open.

Where is the funding coming from? It is coming from a storehouse that has always been there, dear ones. It uses income that has been generated from low consciousness acts, collected for a very long time. Funding didn't just appear. It has been stored, waiting to be used in order to spread fear and darkness to save what they believe is their way.

Who Will Win?

Dear ones, they haven't got a chance! But it looks like they do, doesn't it? Everything that they are doing is calculated to scare you into submission. Are they winning? Now, that's a question I want you to take from here and examine every day.

Fear is black. If you're in fear, there is no light. You can be the grandest Lightworker, or even be the channeller, but if you're in fear, it doesn't matter how many years you've done light work, or how much light you've accumulated personally. It all goes away with fear, and then they've won the battle for your mind. Do you understand this?

The Strength of the Old Soul - YOU

Old souls, Lightworkers reading this, the experiences you have had over lifetimes and lifetimes are incredible! The old soul knows fear. I don't want to be too graphic, but I want you to understand! What was it like when you put your head in the guillotine because you talked about God in a way that was inappropriate? What was it like to be bound hand and foot when they lit the match at your feet? Old soul, that's fear! You carry those experiences in your Akash.

I want to tell you they haven't got a chance to scare you! You absolutely know what fear is, and they haven't got a chance as long as you cling to that part of you that is the strength of God. You've been through it all. That means you've got the weapons of truth, wisdom and light. Don't forget it. Don't forget who you are!

Do you see how fast they assembled? It seemed like only yesterday that there was no organization at all. Where did they come from? Have you noticed a certain hesitancy to fight them? Why is it that the citizens of the lands that they are invading are hesitant to fight them? Instead, these leaders are calling on others to help. Why is it that the others are also hesitant? I want to show you that there are some anomalies of logic that are not making sense, because this is a battle you have never seen before on this planet. We've expected it, but you haven't. It's about consciousness, not land or resources.

How to Win?

We gave you the secret before of how to defeat them without taking even one life: Simply take away their funding. They cannot exist without their funding. The funding has to be organized, stored, and distributed. It has to be generated in such a way that it must also go through institutions. Did you hear that? All you have to do is stop the system. Winning won't be done with bombing. It's going to be done with intelligence, clever thinking and financial forensics. It's time to get smart on some of these things and not to be afraid to look at this puzzle differently than you have before. Do not apply the energy they are using in order to fight them, because you won't win. Figure it out. It's the last bastion of organized darkness and evil thinking on this planet coming together to try to survive the assault of your light. Don't be afraid to look at the funding trail, no matter where it takes you.

Fear is Their Weapon

I want you to know something as you look at your news. It may appear that you are unable to stop them. In many places, they will gain strength as they create fear. The fear is easily created in those who are not old souls and who don't know fear like you do and who don't have the armor of your spiritual experiences. This puts you in the front line, dear one. Did you realize that? But you don't have to go fight them on their terms. All you have to do is broadcast light. High consciousness will beat fear any day.. .”

French Court Summons Ex-Guantanamo Chief in Torture Probe

Naharnet Newsdesk, AFP, 2 April 2015

A French court on Thursday summoned former Guantanamo prison chief Geoffrey Miller over accusations of torture by two ex-detainees, in a move their lawyer said would open the door to further prosecutions.

Nizar Sassi and Mourad Benchellali, both French citizens, were arrested by U.S. forces in Afghanistan before being transferred to the notorious prison set up in Guantanamo Bay to hold terror suspects after the 9/11 attacks.

They were held there from the end of 2001 until 2004 and 2005 respectively, before being sent home.

A French probe into their case began after they filed a complaint in court.

"The door has opened for civilian and military officials to be prosecuted over international crimes committed in Guantanamo," their lawyer William Bourdon said.

"This decision can only... lead to other leaders being summoned."

Despite promises by U.S. President Barack Obama to close the prison, which is located in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay -- an area on the east of the island under U.S. control since a treaty signed in 1903 -- it remains open and still houses detainees without charge.

The U.S. presence at Guantanamo Bay, where it also has a naval base, is one of the major stumbling blocks in Washington and Havana's historic move towards normalizing ties.

In an expert report submitted to a French judge last year, lawyers for Sassi and Benchellali accused Miller of "an authorized and systematic plan of torture and ill-treatment on persons deprived of their freedom without any charge and without the basic rights of any detainee."

Miller, who was commander of the prison from 2002 to 2004 and is now retired, "bears individual criminal responsibility for the war crimes and acts of torture inflicted on detainees in US custody at Guantanamo," according to the report.

Just before Miller became commander of Guantanamo in late 2002, president George W. Bush's administration approved so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, including placing detainees in stress positions, stripping them, isolating them for extended periods of time and exposing them to extreme heat and cold.

Miller then implemented these methods.

And even though then-secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld withdrew permission for the most controversial of these interrogation techniques shortly thereafter in January 2003, "under ... Miller's command at Guantanamo, these techniques continued to be used in certain cases," the detainees' lawyers said last year.

"These acts constitute torture and violate, at a minimum, the Geneva Convention's prohibition on coercive interrogations."

Sassi and Benchellali are not the only detainees alleging torture during their time at the prison.

Former Syrian detainee Abdul Rahim Abdul Razak al Janko had wanted to sue the U.S. government for damages stemming from his treatment while held at Guantanamo for seven years until his 2009 release.

In his complaint, Janko cited years-long solitary confinement, lengthy bouts of sleep deprivation, "severe beatings," threats against him and his family, sexually explicit slurs against his female relatives, deprivation of adequate medical and psychological care, as well as "continuous" humiliation and harassment.

But last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, as well as another by a U.S. rights group.

Related Article:

Dutch are ‘considering’ accepting two Guantanamo prisoners: NRC

Europeans should come clean on CIA torture

Nearly 10 years ago, allegations were raised against some European states for colluding with the CIA in post-9/11 anti-terror measures. Amnesty International is now calling on these nations to come clean.

Deutsche Welle, 20 Jan 2015

Amnesty International published a paper on Tuesday, January 20, calling for European countries that allegedly helped set up secret prisons for rendered terror suspects to disclose the full details of their collusion with the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

Amnesty's call comes a month after a damning report released by the US Senate documented CIA torture practices, including the transfer of terror suspects to third countries, a practice known legally as extraordinary rendition.

"Without European help, the US would not have been able to secretly detain and torture people for so many years. The [US Senate report released in December] makes it abundantly clear that foreign governments were essential to the success of the CIA operations - and evidence that has been mounting for nearly a decade points to key European allies," Julia Hall, Amnesty International's expert on counterterrorism and human rights, said.

The Senate report made no mention of names with regard to where the secret prisons were located, but Amnesty singled out three nations: Poland, Lithuania and Romania.

"The time for denials and cover-ups is over," Hall implored. "Governments can no longer rely on unsubstantiated 'national security' grounds and claims of state secrecy to hide the truth about their roles in the torture and disappearance of people. It's time for justice for all those who have suffered the gruesome practices - including waterboarding, sexual assault, and mock executions - that characterized these illegal counter-terrorism operations."

This is the location of one of the alleged 'black sites' in Lithuania

Legal action first on national level

The Senate report, compiled by the Committee for Intelligence, said at least 119 prisoners had been subjected to "coercive interrogation techniques, in some cases amounting to torture," at secret prisons - "black sites" - in Guantanamo Bay and a number of allied nations.

In addition to calling on the accused European nations to come clean, Amnesty also called for criminal investigations to take place and for "justice to be done," but it did not mention against whom or what form that justice could take.

"There is now a heightened call for domestic prosecutors in [Poland, Lithuania, and Romania] to institute criminal charges against anybody who was involved, including high-level politicians, intelligence and military intelligence officials," explained Martin Scheinin, Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the European University Institute.

Scheinin, who was the UN's first Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, told DW that, apart from domestic legal procedures, "international human rights mechanisms and ultimately international criminal trials" could also take place.

"For a long time, European states have argued that they are not able to reveal any information because they have promised full confidentiality to the US," said Manfred Nowak, another former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, after the Senate report was released in December. "Since these 500 pages have been released, this argument no longer holds true."

The UK faces allegations for participating in torture at Guantanamo

Britain, Macedonia, Berlin

The allegations of collusion leveled by Amnesty in its paper also refer to three other European nations: Great Britain, Macedonia, and Germany.

With reference to the Senate report, Amnesty called on Great Britain to disclose information regarding its role in the alleged torture of Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed. Although the Senate report made no mention of direct CIA detention, Amnesty also demanded that the British government address claims that it detained terror suspects in secret on the island territory of Diego Garcia, the site of a strategic US military and naval base in the Indian Ocean.

El-Masri won his case at the European
Court of Human Rights in 2012

Germany and Macedonia were implicated in the Amnesty paper and the Senate report in connection with the arrest and transfer of German citizen Khaled el-Masri, who was tortured at a black site in Afghanistan. The European Court of Human Rights has already found that Macedonia violated el-Masri's human rights by rendering him to the CIA, but the role that Germany played in that process remains unclear.

"What is missing is whether Germany had any involvement," said Scheinin. "And that is what [Amnesty] is ultimately asking for. Even if there was an investigation in Germany, Amnesty's grievance is that the government didn't cooperate fully."

Related Article:

GOP lawmaker: You will ‘rethink everything’ when full 9/11 report is released

New Romania President Iohannis sworn into office

Klaus Iohannis has been sworn in as Romania's new president. The new head of state pledged to use his time in office to fight corruption and strengthen the country's institutions.

Deutsche Welle, 21 Dec 2014

Iohannis took the oath of office in a joint session of Romania's upper and lower houses of parliament in the capital, Bucharest, before travelling to the presidential palace to take up his duties.

"There is a need for the whole political class to understand there is no other way for Romania except that of a country rid of corruption," the 55-year-old head of state said in his inaugural speech.

"I want that at the end of my term people can see we have made durable laws, solid institutions," he added.

Iohannis, an ethnic German who surprisingly defeated Prime Minister Victor Ponta in the November 16 run-off election, in part because he won the votes of thousands of voters abroad, who had been unable to cast their ballots in the first round.

The former mayor of a town in Transylvania, Iohannis has promised to use the office to act as a unifying force in Romanian politics, which in recent years has often been marked by squabbling between Prime Minister Ponta and the man he is replacing as president, Traian Basescu.

Basescu's decade in office ends

Basescu, a center-right politician, was not eligible to run again after serving the maximum 10 years allowed under the country's constitution.

He has been credited for his commitment to fighting corruption in the country and was a staunch ally of the United States.

Basescu's term, however, was also marked by controversy. On Saturday, he declined to comment on the latest media reports suggesting that Romania had hosted a secret CIA prison, saying the matter was being investigated by public prosecutors.

pfd/shs (Reuters, AP)

EU court strikes Hamas from terror blacklist

Yahoo – AFP, Danny Kemp, 17 Dec 2014

A Palestinian protestor with his face covered in a balaclava in the colours of his

 national flag and holding a Hamas movement flag looks on during clashes with

Israeli soldiers in Hebron on August 8, 2014. (Photo by Hazem Bader, AFP/File)

The Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas must be removed from the EU's terrorism blacklist, but its assets will stay frozen for the time being, a European court ruled on Wednesday.

The original listing in 2001 was based not on sound legal judgements but on conclusions derived from the media and the Internet, the General Court of the European Union said in a statement.

But it stressed that Wednesday's decision to remove Hamas was based on technical grounds and does "not imply any substantive assessment of the question of the classification of Hamas as a terrorist group."

Hamas, which has been in power in the

 Palestinian territory of Gaza since 2007,

 had appealed against its inclusion on

 the blacklist on several grounds. (Photo

by Mahmud Hams / AFP/File)

The freeze on Hamas's funds will also temporarily remain in place for three months pending any appeal by the EU, the Luxembourg-based court said.

Hamas, which has been in power in the Palestinian territory of Gaza since 2007, had appealed against its inclusion on the blacklist on several grounds.

The judgement comes hours before the European Parliament is expected to vote on the recognition of a Palestinian state, after several EU countries enraged Israel by taking a similar step.

Hamas's military wing was added to the European Union's first-ever terrorism blacklist drawn up in December 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The EU blacklisted the political wing of Hamas in 2003.

"The General Court finds that the contested measures are based not on acts examined and confirmed in decisions of competent authorities but on factual imputations derived from the press and the Internet," the court said.

Instead, such an action had to be based on facts previously established by competent authorities.

European Parliament vote

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers were removed from the list in October after an almost identical judgement.

The lawyer for Hamas, Liliane Glock, told AFP she was "satisfied with the decision".

"Every decision since 2001 imposing restrictive measures, including on the armed wing, have been annulled. I believe that this judgement shows the whole world that it exists and is legal," Glock said.

Hamas was founded in 1987 shortly after

 the start of the first Palestinian intifada, or

 uprising, and was inspired by Egypt's

Muslim Brotherhood EU court strikes

Hamas from terror blacklist. (Photo by

Mahmud Hams /AFP/File)

The lawyer added that the court's decision also showed that the EU could not base its decision on the US terror list, although there was no mention of that list in the court's judgement.

There was no immediate reaction from the Israeli government nor from the EU.

Hamas was founded in 1987 shortly after the start of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, and was inspired by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

There is a growing impatience in Europe over the failure to make progress in the Middle East peace talks.

After Ireland's and Portugal's parliaments became the latest earlier this week to back recognition of a Palestinian state, the European Parliament in Strasbourg will vote on a similar motion later Wednesday.

The motion says that the parliament "supports in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two state solution, and believes these should go hand in hand with the development of peace talks, which should be advanced."

With the peace process stalled, the Palestinians on Wednesday will push on with a draft UN resolution demanding an end to Israeli occupation.

Ex-president admits Poland hosted CIA 'black sites'

Yahoo – AFP, 10 Dec 2014

Poland allowed the CIA to hold terror suspects on its soil on the condition they

 were "treated as prisoners of war", former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski

said (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

Warsaw (AFP) - Poland's former president publicly acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that his country hosted a secret CIA prison where a US Senate report says torture was used against Al-Qaeda suspects.

Aleksander Kwasniewski said that as president he put pressure on the United States to end brutal CIA interrogation at the secret prison on Polish soil in 2003.

"I told (then US president George W) Bush that this cooperation must end and it did end," Kwasniewski told local media.

Aleksander Kwasniewski, Polish President

 between 1995 and 2005, said he raised

 concerns over CIA activities in Poland

 face-to-face with US President George

 W. Bush at the White House in 2003 (AFP

Photo/Luke Frazza)

He was speaking a day after the scathing Senate report revealed the CIA had used methods amounting to torture to interrogate prisoners after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Kwasniewski, president between 1995 and 2005, said he raised Polish concerns over CIA activities in Poland face-to-face with Bush at the White House in 2003.

He said Bush insisted that the intelligence agency's methods provided "important benefits in security matters", a claim disputed by the report.

"The Americans conducted their activities in such secrecy, that it raised our concern. Polish authorities acted to end these activities and they were stopped under pressure from Poland."

Kwasniewski said Poland had agreed to "beefed-up intelligence cooperation" with the US within the framework of NATO after the September 11 attacks, but insisted he was unaware the CIA practised torture at its secret facilities.

Poland allowed the CIA to hold terror suspects on its soil on the condition they were "treated as prisoners of war", he said, adding that the US never signed the memorandum of understanding that included this stipulation.

Those who broke international laws prohibiting torture must be prosecuted, he added.

Taking responsibility

The European Court of Human Rights slammed Poland in July for complicity in torture on its territory of a Palestinian and a Saudi, later sent to the notorious US Guantanamo Bay base.

The court concluded Poland had cooperated in the CIA's notorious "rendition" programme.

The CIA disputes the findings of the Senate report, which says 119 detainees were captured and imprisoned in secret CIA "black sites" in countries whose names were redacted.

Previous news reports suggested the sites were located in Afghanistan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Thailand.

Polish prosecutors have been probing allegations of the secret prison since 2008. They said they will ask for access to the damning report, as have their Lithuanian counterparts.

"If the information proves correct, Lithuania will have to take responsibility," President Dalia Grybauskaite said of allegations that it also hosted a secret CIA jail.

But Valdas Adamkus, Lithuania's president at the time, on Wednesday denied any knowledge of such facilities.

"I am still convinced that there had been no jails and no prisoners from there", Adamkus, now 88, told AFP.

Human rights activists said the Senate report confirmed suspicions that Saudi Mustafa al-Hawsawi was imprisoned at a secret CIA jail in Lithuania in 2005-6.

In 2009, a Lithuanian parliamentary enquiry identified two sites that may have been used as CIA black sites.

But it noted that despite records showing CIA aircraft landed in Lithuania, it was not possible to say whether suspects were actually brought in.

Related Articles:

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Torture report: UN, rights groups demand prosecutions

European court condemns Poland for hosting secret CIA prisons

GOP lawmaker: You will ‘rethink everything’ when full 9/11 report is released

Warsi attacks 'morally indefensible' stand on Gaza as she quits coalition

Warsi says Cameron has lost moral authority as Clegg demands suspension of arms export licences to Israel

The Guardian, Patrick Wintour and Rowena Mason, Tuesday 5 August 2014

Warsi said Cameron’s response to Gaza may become 'a basis for radicalisation
 [that] could have consequences for years to come'. Photo: Andrew Parsons/i-Images

The government's policy towards the Israeli incursion into Gaza was in danger of falling apart on Tuesday night in the wake of the surprise resignation of the Foreign Office minister Sayeeda Warsi and a demand by Nick Clegg that Britain immediately suspend arms export licences to Israel.

Lady Warsi said the prime minister had lost moral authority, undermined the national interest and deprived Britain of its historic role as an honest broker in the Middle East by refusing to condemn the aggressive Israeli response to the Hamas rocket attacks as disproportionate.

In her strongly worded resignation letter, whose morning publication came as a surprise to No 10, Warsi warned that "our approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza is morally indefensible [and] is not in Britain's national interest".

She also complained that Cameron's response may become "a basis for radicalisation [which] could have consequences for us for years to come".

Her departure came after internal argument inside the National Security Council over Cameron's refusal to condemn the aggressive Israeli response to the Hamas rocket attacks.

British ministers have condemned the outcome of the Israeli bombings as intolerable and appalling, but Cameron has barred ministers from describing the Israeli bombings as disproportionate, and refused to attribute final blame prematurely even for some of the attacks on UN schools in Gaza.

Warsi's departure exacerbated coalition tensions over Gaza, as Clegg urged an immediate suspension of arms export licences, saying that Israel had breached the conditions. He said the suspension should remain in force until agreement has been reached across the government on any permanent revocation in the coming days.

Ministers agreed a review of the licences last week, but Clegg has decided to ratchet up the pressure, saying: "I believe the actions of the Israeli military, overstepping the mark in Gaza, breach the conditions of those export licences and that's why we want to see them suspended pending a wider review of whether they should be revoked more permanently in the long run."

Revealing he has been putting pressure on his Conservative colleagues for a suspension of the licences rather than a review, he said: "I believe we will be able to make an announcement on this, finally, very shortly. It's very important that in response to clearly what appears to be disproportionate military action of Israel in Gaza, we should be suspending the arms export licences that presently exist."

Warsi's departure also prompted a vicious round of briefing against her by some Tories, condemning her variously as egotistical, incompetent, a Hamas sympathiser and motivated by pique at her failure to be promoted in the last reshuffle.

However, Downing Street, aware that she has the potential to cause lethal damage if she broadens her attack on the Cameron circle, as her resignation letter threatened, distanced itself from such briefings. Cameron, in his reply to her resignation letter, lavished praise on her and urged her to raise any issues with him in the future. It is known she has kept copious diaries, and officials fear she may claim in retrospect she was used as a token Muslim.

Cameron wrote: "I very much regret that we were not able to speak about your decision beforehand." He added: "I understand your strength of feeling on the current crisis in the Middle East – the situation in Gaza is intolerable. Our policy has always been consistently clear: we support a negotiated two-state solution as the only way to resolve this conflict once and for all and to allow Israelis and Palestinians to live safely in peace."

The departure of the first British Muslim cabinet minister is a major blow for Cameron, potentially weakening Conservative support among ethnic minorities in marginal seats, lifting the lid on the divisions on the Tory backbenches over the scale of Israel's bombing, and apparently confirming to the party's centre-left that traditional support for international human rights has been severely eroded by ministerial changes. "It's now a Daily Mail administration," complained one recently sacked Conservative minister.

Warsi, as senior foreign office minister, was responsible for British support for international human rights law and in her resignation letter bemoaned the departure in the previous reshuffle of Kenneth Clarke, and the former attorney general Dominic Grieve.

Warsi spoke at length to the new foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, on Sunday and appears to have held back from resigning on Monday because of the first world war commemorations.

Instead she resigned via Twitter just after 9am on Tuesday, coincidentally about three hours after a three-day ceasefire had come into force.

Both Hammond and the chancellor, George Osborne, highlighted the timing of her announcement. Osborne described her decision to quit as "disappointing and frankly unnecessary", while Hammond said he was slightly surprised she had quit just as weeks of behind-the-scenes diplomacy was bearing fruit with the ceasefire.

But Warsi's resignation broke a dam of criticism of Israel in the Conservative party. Boris Johnson, the London mayor often touted as a future leadership contender, condemned Israel with the words Cameron has declined to deploy.

"I believe in a two-state solution. I cannot for the life of me see how this helps us get there. I think that it is disproportionate, I think it is ugly, and it is tragic. And I don't think it will do us any good in the long run," Johnson said.

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