U.S. anti-terror role criticized
FLORENCE, ITALY — Two of Europe's most prominent counter-terrorism officials on Friday criticized the United States for not being fully cooperative in the global fight against Islamist extremism, saying its unwillingness to share information and evidence in a timely manner had compromised important investigations and prosecutions.
The remarks were made by senior investigative magistrates Armando Spataro of Italy and Baltasar Garzon of Spain at a counter-terrorism conference here that was attended by senior U.S. officials.
The Americans acknowledged some problems in sharing information and evidence, but said the situation was improving and that no relevant material was being withheld intentionally.
"It happens both ways," said one senior U.S. counter-terrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing diplomatic sensitivities.
Some other Europeans privately voiced concerns at the conference that the United States was not sharing evidence, in some cases because, they say, Washington was placing too much emphasis on holding terrorism suspects in CIA custody or elsewhere instead of prosecuting them in criminal court.
It was unusual, however, for two such prominent counterterrorism officials to criticize their U.S. counterparts directly in a public forum.
Garzon has spent nearly 20 years investigating and prosecuting terrorist networks in Spain, and has indicted Osama bin Laden and numerous other suspected terrorists. Spataro, also a veteran counter-terrorism prosecutor, angered the U.S. by opening a criminal case that led to charges being filed against 33 people, including 26 Americans, allegedly linked to the abduction of a Muslim cleric from a Milan street in 2003 as part of a CIA practice known as "extraordinary rendition."
In a rendition, terrorism suspects are captured and handed into the custody of other governments for interrogation. Many, including the Egyptian cleric seized in Milan, allege that their interrogation included torture.
Although the two judges voiced their complaints in an off-the-record session attended by reporters, they agreed to allow portions of their remarks to be used, and they amplified their comments afterward in separate interviews with The Times.
Spataro said he has had problems with other countries, including France and Morocco, but said in an interview that Washington in particular had caused problems by not extending to Italy and other European allies the same kind of cooperation on counter-terrorism matters as it had on organized crime prosecutions and other criminal matters.
