Trust US

In a statement made before boarding a plane bound for Berlin, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the Bush administration’s treatment of suspected terrorists by telling America’s European allies that they should “trust the United States.” This is in response to recent allegations that the C.I.A. is operating covert torture chambers in Eastern Europe.

This seems to me to be a reasonable request only if the United States has proven trustworthy in the arena of human rights and, more specifically, the treatment of terror suspects in its custody. Instances of prisoner abuse at both Abu Gharaib in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba as well as a recent decision by the United States Senate to strip detainees of their right to habeas corpus all suggest a track record that has undercut both America’s moral authority and its inherent trustworthiness.

It’s sad that Rice will be remembered in the annals of history not so much as the first African-American female to hold the post of Secretary of State, but, rather, as the chief apologist for what could very well be the worst regime ever to lead the United States.