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Iraq and German Intelligence

I've wondered for some time at the role of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND)--the German Federal Intelligence Agency--in rendition and the Iraq war. Back in 2002, the Social Democratic Party government of Gerhard Schroeder was loudly proclaiming its separation from the war effort. Schroeder in fact won an election on an anti-war platform.

Then came stories of German Intelligence actively cooperating in extraordinary rendition, and in the interrogation of prisoners from Afghanistan. Germany was, and is, of course, involved in the Afghan war.

It now seems to be the case that German leaders, from the Chancellery down, may have been saying one thing in public and doing another in private. I expect little else from the likes of Schroeder, of course. The former Chancellor is now a shill for Russian energy interests, and always seemed more concerned with his appearance than a consistent moral platform. He was also, famously, a semi-flaccid part of Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson's vapid neo-liberal gang.

Yet, as part of an election-time series of revelations that can only boost Angela Merkel (the smartest leader in Europe) it now seems that Schroeder was encouraging German intelligence agents to help the CIA assassinate Saddam Hussein, and that they then went on to facilitate the 2003 Iraq war.

It may be that this is a part of the logic of assassination that 'tough liberals' sometimes get wrapped up in. If you deplore war, but want plaudits from warriors because you allow yourself to hate bad men, one of the things that you do (and the move is as old as sin) is try and allow assassins to save you from war. The Kennedys fell for it in some fashion with the governments of Vietnam and Cuba, and a fat lot of good it did them; on the other hand, Clinton resiled from it when Bin Laden was in American and French sights, and apparently regrets it.

Modern, democratic Germany has long been a state I admire. Did it involve itself in the logic of assassination, and is it now to be embarrassed by it? The coming days may provide an answer, which could also confirm Mrs Merkel in power.

The picture at the top of this blog is Ben Solowey's portrait of Erich Von Stroheim as the Great Gabbo. Gabbo was, of course, a deeply nervous man driven mad by ventriloquism.

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