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Prosecutors in Germany say they may soon file charges against officers of the CIA. The charges would be in connection with an alleged kidnapping.
And this is not the only European investigation of the Central Intelligence Agency. A similar case in Italy has already led to 26 arrest warrants being issued.
Legal experts say they doubt the U.S. would ever hand over CIA spies for trial. But as NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports, these cases underscore the legal threat faced by CIA officers overseas.
MARY LOUISE KELLY: When President Bush appeared at the White House last month and acknowledged for the first time the existence of a secret network of CIA prisons, he said he was doing so in part out of concern for the people who run those prisons. They could be prosecuted just for doing their job, the president said, a situation he called unacceptable for CIA spies who "have risked their lives to capture some of the most brutal terrorists on Earth."
In Europe, investigators watched the president's speech with interest. But it may not have had quite the intended effect, according to Terry Davis, secretary-general of the Council of Europe.
Mr. TERRY DAVIS (Secretary-General, Council of Europe): He's actually incited more inquiry. He has encouraged the investigators. The reason why President Bush has encouraged those efforts is because he said publicly there have been secret prisons. But he has not identified the countries. So everybody's saying, well, is it where I live? Is there some secret prison here?
KELLY: Davis' group is probing alleged CIA abuses of detainees, including what are known as renditions: transferring terror suspects to a third country for questioning. In Brussels, a European Union panel also has an investigation underway. In Germany, there are two probes - the criminal investigation that may lead to formal charges and a separate parliamentary inquiry.
Federal prosecutors in Switzerland are investigating whether the CIA moved prisoners through Swiss airspace. In Spain, police are looking into whether the CIA used Spanish soil as a transit point for terror suspects. And the list goes on.
The net effect of all these probes is that many CIA officers are now deciding it's not worth it to participate in aggressive operations. That's according to Bob Baer, who worked undercover for the CIA for 21 years.
Mr. BOB BAER (Former CIA Operative): If you get involved in a rendition or any sort of arrest and it goes badly, your career is over. You can't go overseas. You're finished.
KELLY: Another former CIA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adds it not only shuts down your career, it shuts down your life. The only place you can ever go on vacation is North Korea.
That's because in the age of Interpol and global computer databases, someone wanted on criminal charges in, say, Italy, could be detained almost anywhere. Baer says the implicit message to CIA field officers is take a desk job.
Mr. BAER: If I were a supervisor at the CIA, I would advise my employees not to be involved in a rendition or any sort of covert action. Why do it? And I know it's demoralized the CIA. You hear more and more people are leaving.
KELLY: Or staying, but taking out private liability insurance. Buying a policy is now common practice within the CIA. It's a development that former CIA general counsel Jeffrey Smith finds deeply disturbing.
Mr. JEFFREY SMITH (Former CIA General Counsel): I feel very strongly that when CIA sends officers to do a job outside the United States they need to back them up, and that includes providing legal representation should the need arise. I regret deeply that officers feel that they need to buy insurance, but I understand that some of them think that's the prudent thing to do.
KELLY: Smith adds that on top of the prospect of foreign prosecutions, CIA officers could face domestic lawsuits as well. He believes Congress' recent move to clarify the rules for questioning and detaining suspected terrorists will help. But Smith says CIA officers remain hugely exposed when they head overseas.
Mr. SMITH: And I think that the sad fact is that CIA officers are often expected to take great risks, and yet when the political winds in Washington change, and their political leadership back here is sawing off that limb. And I think that's disgraceful.
KELLY: The White House sees things differently. Last Friday, after Congress passed its overhaul of U.S. policy on the treatment of suspected terrorists, President Bush hailed the legislation as providing, quote, "the necessary resources to protect our country and win the war on terror."
Mary Louise Kelly, NPR News, Washington.
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