Rice tries to allay fears over CIA torture

SOME NATO members shifted away from a confrontation with the US yesterday, welcoming Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s explanation of Washington’s views on secret prisons and the treatment of terrorist suspects.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Ms Rice assured the allies the US administration did not interpret international humanitarian law differently from allied governments.

On arrival at a NATO foreign ministers meeting he said that was important “because we must not be torn apart over the interpretation of international law”.