NYTimes: German Intelligence Gave U.S. Iraqi Defense Plan, Report Says

[understandinglife]

German Intelligence Gave U.S. Iraqi Defense Plan, Report Says

By MICHAEL R. GORDON

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 —Two German intelligence agents in Baghdad obtained a copy of Saddam Hussein's plan to defend the Iraqi capital, which a German official passed on to American commanders a month before the invasion according to a classified study by the United States military.

In providing the Iraqi document, German intelligence officials offered more significant assistance to the United States than their government has publicly acknowledged. The plan gave the American military an extraordinary window into Iraq's top-level deliberations, including where and how Mr. Hussein planned to deploy his most loyal troops.

The German role is not the only instance in which nations that publicly cautioned against the war privately facilitated it. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, for example, provided more help than they have disclosed. Egypt gave access for refueling planes, while Saudi Arabia allowed American special operations forces to initiate attacks from its territory, United States military officials say.

But the German government was an especially vociferous critic of the Bush administration's decision to use military force to topple Mr. Hussein. While the German government has said that it had intelligence agents in Baghdad during the war, it has insisted it provided only limited help to the United States-led coalition.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/politics/27germans.html?ei=5094&en=ea7e53dd35d8ba35&hp=&ex=1141016400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

Peace.

[cliss]

1. Well, so much for Herr Schröeder's

principles. He was very much against the US marching into Iraq. And then he helps the US?

If this is true, then it will confirm my suspicions that Europe is in fact in cahoots with the US in Iraq. I'm really not hearing that much complaining from Europe lately.

I wonder why?

[Skink]

2. And yet we still blew it...

[lovuian]

3. I think this is tying in Germany and forcing them to be our ally

in the upcoming invasion... Iran... Merkel is Bush's buddy...

[fed-up]

4. So did the Germans let us know where the non-existant WMD were hidden &

what Saddam's so-called plan was for using them.

IF they had spies that high up in Saddam's inner circle they knew DAMN well that there were NO WMDs!

[alfredo]

5. So bush knew that Hussein wanted to suck us into

a bloody urban guerrilla war, but went ahead with Rummy's idiotic plan anyway.

If your enemy offers little resistance and collapses into the cities, chances are good that they want to fight you there, not out in the open.

[Renew Deal]

6. I guess it's nice to see the Germans were helping out?

:shrug:

I thought this was reported some time ago.