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+--- Thread: Danish government accused of "double game" - over rendition flights. (/Thread-Danish-government-accused-of-double-game-over-rendition-flights)
Danish government accused of "double game" - over rendition flights. - Magda Hassan - 10-01-2011
Danish government accused of "double game" - over rendition flights. The former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Denmark appear to have misled parliament over alleged CIA overflights that may have violated Danish airspace. 03/11/2010
Danish government accused of "double game" - over rendition flights. The former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Denmark appear to have misled parliament over alleged CIA overflights that may have violated Danish airspace.
According to Wikileaks cables from the American Embassy in Copenhagen sent to the State Department in Washington, the Danish government appears to have been involved in a dangerous "double game regarding CIA rendition flights." While the government, and in particular, the former Prime Minister, Anders Fogh and Foreign Minister, Per Stig Moeller, outwardly expressed anger and frustration at the inability to get answers from the American government regarding the alleged flights, top Danish officials painted a very different story to the American Embassy in Copenhagen. A Cablegate telegram authored by former Ambassador James P. Cain documents that the Danish government had no interest in discovering the truth about possible CIA overflights through Danish airspace and based their diplomatic strategy on hopes that the media story would lose its momentum. In conversations with Cain both Minister Counselor, Michael Zilmer-Johns, and former top foreign policy advisor to the Prime Minister, Thomas Ahrenkeil, assured the Ambassador that the Danish government had full understanding for the difficult position the American government faced but felt obliged to pay lip service to an inquiry due to mounting pressure from the Parliamentary opposition and media.
Following a Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) documentary entitled "The CIA's Danish connection", the government hastily contacted leading US officials in order to be able to tell the media that efforts were being made to address the situation.
Notwithstanding this, the center right coalition government and its far right support party managed to prevent an independent inquiry into the issue by agreeing to set up a 48 man strong working group. As predicted by left wing government opponents the findings of the working group were inconclusive as it could find no incriminating evidence against the US government. In addition, the Wikileaks cable shows a willingness by Per Stig Moeller to tailor his questions about rendition to the American's liking. However, the notion that the US would answer Moeller's prearranged questions was dropped as the US found it entirely inappropriate to discuss any security issue of this kind. Finally, after months of negotiation, former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, sent a letter to Moeller pledging to inform Denmark of any airspace violations in the future. After receiving this communication, Moeller, displayed his legendary hot temper at a press meeting where he raged: "this is entirely unacceptable and I won't accept this treatment from the United States." In spite of this, Cain writes that during a meeting in 2008, between Rice and Moeller, the former Foreign Minister thanked her profusely for her gracious letter which had taken the pressure off the Danish government regarding the issue.
Earlier today, Per Stig Moeller called an emergency meeting with government colleagues. It is expected that he will comment on the issue during the week.
http://www.demotix.com/news/553359/rendition-flights-debate-wikileaks