What sobering news! Perhaps airports and governments should be doing more by identifying and cross verifying women who are trafficked within airports.

Ha ha what a joke!!! Who are we to warn Germany (where prostitution is legal)about the sex trade? We have the same problem here and those countries aren't warning us!!!

why is the u.s. state dept. trying to force it,s extreme far right religous views on germany . trying to stop german prostitution though legal in the u.s. @ here in nv. where i live these idiotic religous fanatic,s are causing millions to die in africa asia etc. from aid,s though it came out of a U.S. labratory in 1980 by eliminating safety precaution,s due to budget cutback,s under reagan. if religous fanatics are not kept out of government we will be back into the dark ages. horten

Every year, the numbers of exploited humans (especially women and children) increases. Since these groups have no power politically in most countries of the world, they are helpless to fight against their oppressors.

In the United States, one of the biggest box office actors, Robert De Niro was arrested on suspicion of sex slave trafficking and where is he now????

If those in power (and in the US., Hollywood actors are quite powerful), can get away with this, then how is it to be stopped? It will take more women in political positions to stop this human atrocity from continuing.

This issue should be on every nation's political agenda. When one looks at how a nation's women and children are treated, one will see how humanity in general is valued.

the topic should also include "the prostitutes at the rest areas in USA"

Surprisingly, Israel is a key receiver of exploited females for the sex trades according to TV reports. Also, the former Soviet Bloc seems to feel permitting the export of young, intelligent females to brothels in Italy is a form of foreign trade.

This is a serious problem, but it looks like the State Dept. is using it to play politics, since their list of worst offenders too closely matches the countries that the US is antagonistic to, and doesn't include other countries in which human trafficking is a major problem, but which are more friendly to the US.

Who cares who warns whom?! Each country should be warned about this danger. If this warning helps save one person from being trafficked we should all be glad the state department spoke up. Incidentally, Horten, I don't see any attempt by the state dept. to legislate German prostitution; they are warning Germany of the ills prostitution can bring (ie the immorality of human slavery). Legal or not, prostitution can and will cause human trafficking which is immoral. Also, Horten, why would the United States purposely release aids into the world and then spend billions of dollars (under Clinton and Bush) to combat this disease? Think about it.

There are so many rotten things that go on in the world that we can have very little effect on. If we are serious, we will instead focus on what WE do and what we CAN do here in our country, where our responsibilities lie, instead of lashing out at other countries. If Condolezza Rice is serious in helping sex workers 'rebuild their lives', then why are we throwing them in prison here in the US? A good start would include a reassessment of the prostitution laws in the US. Germany and the Netherlands have done this with great success, both in terms of HIV infection rates and personal safety for sex workers. If we're smart, we'll take their lead.

When time are good, there's no need for a gatekeeper. When time are bad, you will call on the faithful! How will the almighty judge you?

Isn't it interesting how our do-nothing-but-spend, huge GOP government can't address any substantive issues but is an expert on sex and women's issues?

Our two-party "system" seems to reliably attract and deliver the dumbest of the dumb.

Once again the US tries to make the rules for the rest of the world. Instead of the holy than thou attitude, perhaps the US should address its own human rights offences first. There's plenty of them to be dealt with. Then perhaps make a true effort to work "with" the rest of the world to stop the horrible human trade that also happens in the US.

In 1959 America was the envy of the world. Now, 2006 we are the most hated nation on earth. Why is our Government trying to tell other nations how to behave when it is us who behave like uncivilized people. Bush has contributed more to this state of sad affairs than any other president although all past presidents are guilty of treason and deceiving the American public. So my advice to Condi Rice is this: Don't worry about prostitutes in Germany because America has plenty of them on the streets, instead work with the Latino heads of state and stop the flow of poverty coming into this country, destroying our way of life.

Sincerely,
Armin Baur

I think horten need to do a little fact checking. Reagan took office in Jan. 1981, therefore could not be a factor is the alleged 1980 Govt plot he believes. seth hits it on the head, the problem is worldwide exploitation of women and children that should be stopped wherever it occurs. Kudos to the US for speaking up!

Isn't it very hypocritical of us to say anything to anyone about moral issues when we are willing to marry homosexuals.

I just think America needs to be careful and stop being the pot that calls the kettle black. This country has the larges "adult" film industry on the planet. We have in this VERY country women smuggled in to work a prostitutes. America's government needs to be humbled. They are a bunch of HYPOCRITS!!!!!!!!!!!

Leave it to somebody (above) to quote some scripture. I, for one see scripture as fiction.The traffic in human currency is sickening, and should be addressed in the countries in which it occurs, most noteably with the customers. There will always be a demand for anonymous and cheap sex, my hope is that we reduce the demand to the point that the economic incentive is gone. Partner the reduced demand with vigorous law enforcement efforts and the numbers will surely decline.

Well 1000 thanks abcnews, I'm now on my way to Germany and I don't plan to see the world cup either!!!

One point on this jumps out at me more than anything.Our situation on prostitution in the U.S. If the state department is serious about this then combat prostitution right down the street from where you work.Washington D.C is loaded with this problem. And the bad part is some of our polititians have taken part in it.Make a real difference.Stop with the petty warnings and clean up our own yard.Declare war on human slavery.Now that's a war worth waging.

So why is prostitution bad again? It certainly is cheaper and more effective, plus safer than hitting up cheap floozies in a bar. It's to the point, and quite frankly those whom are held up with this as an issue or "perversion" need a reality check.

Talk about hypocritcal.. the State Dept's should't be warning other countries on the issue of prostitution. That isnt a federal crime, and is legal in 1 state.

They should have stuck to their charter and requested that Germany remain vigilant about human trafficing, which is illegal in both countries. Instead they had to take it a step further and include prosituion so they could sound riteous.

Legalized prositution is a much more humane way of handling the sitution. It turns it into a legitamate form of employent with a means of escape. The typical american states method only serves to lock women into poorly paid and dangerous situations. (with the exception of nevada of course.)