Fried Rice and Mashed Merkel

Whether or not US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice privately told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the CIA made a mistake by kidnapping a German national is now a case of "she said, she said." But the remarks did put a major damper on what was supposed to be a goodwill visit for Rice and Merkel. German papers say there will be implications for both governments.

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."

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