The latest scandal is unfolding in the German media as Chancellor Merkel boards the jet to Washington DC: apparently the Bundesnachrichtendients (BND) provided intelligence to the US in support of airstrikes in Baghdad at the outset of the Iraq invasion: (from Reuters):
German spies in Baghdad helped U.S. warplanes strike at least one target during the 2003 Iraq war despite Berlin's statements it was not involved in the conflict, German media reported on Thursday.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and NDR television said two agents of Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency remained in Iraq throughout the war, supplying U.S. counterparts with information.
"They gave us direct support. They gave us information for targeting," NDR quoted a former U.S. military official as saying in a preview of a programme to be broadcast later on Thursday. (...)Sueddeutsche Zeitung quoted unnamed security sources as saying approval of the BND's cooperation was a "political decision" taken by Schroeder's government after talks between the BND and the chancellery.
The ex-foreign minister Joshka Fischer reportedly is "horrified" by the report, and claims he had no knowledge of the BND operation. But Der Spindoktor quotes Green Party spokesman Jerzy Montag that this is a serious infraction and an investigation must be conducted to determine whether the BND acted on its own to circumvent the anti-invasion policy of the Red-Green government in Berlin at the time:
Wenn es stimmt, dass Mitarbeiter des BND den USA gezielte Hilfe zu Bombenangriffen geleistet und sich wegen des Nein der rot/grünen Bundesregierung zum Krieg bei den USA entschuldigt haben, kann und wird dies nicht ohne Konsequenzen bleiben. Die Verantwortlichen müssen jetzt aus der Deckung der Geheimhaltung. Der Bundestag und die Öffentlichkeit sind sofort und umfassend über alle Fakten und alle Verantwortlichen zu informieren. Nach den Berichten erscheint der BND immer mehr als ein Augiasstall. Das Parlament muss jetzt die Ärmel aufkrempeln und die Geheimdienste endlich unter effektive demokratische Kontrolle bringen.
This latest scandal puts the new foreign minister Steinmeier under pressure, since he was at least indirectly involved in oversight of the BND in the Schroeder government. But it may actually help provide additional leverage to Chancellor Merkel in discussions in Washington. As Nico Fried points out in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung today, Merkel is suddenly the most important partner in Europe for the weakened and unpopular Bush administration:
Blair and Chirac are nearing the end of their time in office; in Italy Berlusconi is fighting for his political survival; in Spain Zappatero continues with his policies that are highly critical of America...So Berlin plays an increasingly important role. So in the relations with the US Angela Merkel will have to achieve a balance between politically necessary closeness and critical distance. If she can pull this off one can ask: who would have expected this of her?
Well, she has been known to surprise those who underestimated her in the past.
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