[JURIST] In remarks [text] to the North Atlantic Council of NATO on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] assured European leaders that the US government does not allow torture of suspected terrorists and that it respects the principles of the Geneva Conventions. Her comments in the final stage of a European trip came after days of constant questions about US interrogation and rendition policies and alleged secret CIA prisons in Europe [JURIST report]. European and US officials nonetheless continue to disagree over details of how the US is conducting its war on terror. While Rice acknowledged that there was no way to ensure that there will never be abuses violating US policy prohibiting the torture of detainees, she did say that any abuses would be investigated and those responsible punished. AP has more.