Time magazine opines that the (related) “extraordinary rendition” and “black sites” scandals are hurting transatlantic intelligence cooperation, and has some interesting examples of how European cooperation with American intelligence agencies:

…A greater potential downside of the Bush team’s walk on the “dark side” is the fraying of the international coalition of intelligence services — including those in Europe — that have been cooperating in unprecedented ways. This solidarity is one of the unsung successes of the last four years and a key reason why there has been no second terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11. Countries that may publicly poke a finger in Uncle Sam’s eye can still work with him hand-in-glove behind the scenes. France, whose opposition to Washington’s Iraq policy requires no précis, hosts a secret joint operations center with the CIA in Paris called Alliance Base, and has a relationship with the Agency that would astonish the “freedom fries” crowd.

European intelligence services will want to preserve this cooperation, but the issue will not be theirs alone to decide. As public revulsion with U.S. practices grows, European political leaders may yet be forced to restrict intelligence cooperation — perhaps not immediately, but soon. In that case, the Bush Administration’s lack of self-restraint will exact a cost in greater insecurity we will all have to pay.