The Spies Who Came In From the Cold
Even though Germany sat out the invasion of Iraq, its spies in Baghdad passed on reams of information to the U.S. command, according to classified Berlin files.N.Y. Times
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BERLIN, March 1 — Starting in early 2003 and lasting through the American military invasion of Iraq, a German intelligence officer stationed in the office of Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the American commander of the invasion, passed on to the United States information being gathered in Baghdad by two German intelligence officers operating there, a classified German review has found.
The German liaison officer made 25 reports to the Americans, answering 18 of 33 specific requests for information made by the United States during the first few months of the Iraq war in what was a systematic exchange between American intelligence officials and the Germans, according to the German report.
The decision to install the officer was planned and approved at the highest levels of the German government, including by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the chief of staff for Gerhard Schrder, then the chancellor, and by the foreign minister at the time, Joschka Fischer. Mr. Steinmeier is now the foreign minister.
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The president may not want war with Iran, but he does want to push the regime into submission and tout U.S. military dominance to his base.
Meanwhile, thousands of Iraqi anti-government protesters call on both Iran and America to leave the country.
There's no justification for Qassem Soleimani's assassination, and if we avoid another war in the Middle East, we'll have Tehran to thank.
As a candidate in 2016, he praised war crimes and expressed a desire to commit some of his own. No one can claim surprise or betrayal now.
However Iran chooses to respond to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, America's influence in the region is guaranteed to deteriorate.
Rocket falls near U.S. Embassy in Iraq hours after funeral for Qassem Soleimani at which crowd chants "Death to America, death to Israel."
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