Secretary Rice: …the United States does not condone torture. It is against U.S. law to be involved in torture or conspiracy to commit torture. And it is also against U.S. international obligations and the President has made it very clear that U.S. personnel will operate within U.S. law and within our international obligations. … We have an obligation to defend our people and we will use every lawful means to do so. …Any policy will sometimes have mistakes and it is our promise to our partners that should that be the case, that we will do everything that we can to rectify those mistakes. …We will live up, in the United States, to our commitments under our laws and to our international obligations.
Chancellor Merkel: …Yes, indeed, I believe it's not only a question of the American laws, it's also a question of -- we're talking about a country that has signed the International Convention Against Torture. So that is indeed a very important point and therefore the statement by the American Secretary of State has been a very important one… the American Administration, has admitted that this man [Al-Masri] had been erroneously taken and that as such the American Administration is not denying that it has taken place.
Press Availability With German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Berlin, Germany, 12/06/05.
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