Warrants for CIA officers causes US-German rift

The alleged abduction by CIA agents of a German-Lebanese citizen suspected of terrorism is damaging US-German relations, the news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Mar. 3. The report says high-ranking US diplomats have complained to the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel about a German government decision to proceed in applying for international arrest warrants for 13 CIA agents. The decision follows a warrant issued by a Munich court regarding Lebanese-born Khaled El-Masri. Masri alleges he was seized in Macedonia in 2003, secretly detained for five months in Kabul, Afghanistan, then dumped by his captors in Albania. Masri said he was beaten, stripped and mistreated. His lawyers say he is an innocent victim of the CIA practice of the "extraordinary rendition" of terrorism suspects that has caused intense controversy in several European countries. The German government has requested that Interpol arrest the agents on charges of abduction and causing serious bodily harm. Interpol has since issued warrants for 10 of the 13 agents. On Mar. 2, a US appeals court refused to allow Masri's lawsuit against former CIA director George Tenet to go to court. The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA, upheld the decision of a lower court in May that said a trial could reveal state secrets and endanger national security. The suit charges that Tenet knew Masri had been held even after the agency had realized his capture was a mistake. Masri says his main goal is an apology from the US government. He is also seeking damages of at least $75,000. The defendants in the lawsuit included Tenet, 10 unnamed CIA employees, 10 employees of three private companies, and the companies which Masri said owned the airplanes used to transport him. The appeals court said if the lawsuit were to go forward, it would involve the roles played by the defendants in the operation. It threatens to expose "how the CIA organizes, staffs and supervises its most sensitive intelligence operations," it said. "With regard to Director Tenet, for example, Masri would be obliged to show in detail how the head of the CIA participates in such operations and how information concerning their progress is related to him," the appeals court said. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented Masri, expressed disappointment at the ruling and said it will consider appealing to the US Supreme Court. "Regrettably, today's decision allows CIA officials to disregard the law with impunity by making it virtually impossible to challenge their actions in court," ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said.