Several European countries have participated in the illegal renditions organized by the CIA. That's the conclusion of two investigations: one by the European parliament; the other, by Amnesty International. They detail the "web" of landing points in Europe, that lead captured suspects in the war on terror to Guantanamo, Bagdad or Kabul. Two spots in Romania and Poland concern particularly the European investigators, who believe that those stops were not part of a vast majority of "logistical" stop-overs, but could raise questions about the proximity of secret detention centers.
One thing is now perfectly clear: some European government actively participated in the renditions operations; other choose to ignore them until it became politically embarrassing. The cases detailed involve Italy, Germany, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Sweden. The investigation is on-going, and a resolution is being drafted at the Council of Europe to protect human rights while combating terrorism.


Will 90% of the European population know about this? That might be an interesting question for the next Pew Research Center poll. Their latest results on the increase of anti-americanism show that 90% of Europeans have heard of the abuse at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Only 75% of Americans say they have.

But the Americans have warmed up to the French rioters and demonstrators, according to that same poll. In spite of the catastrophic coverage by the US media, the favorable view of France has climbed to 52% - up form 29% in 2003.