Stardate 20030419.1944

(On Screen): Last week the Telegraph revealed information from Iraqi files that showed that the Russians had been cooperating with Saddam's government in Iraq, including providing them with intelligence, and looking the other way while two Russian generals went to Baghdad to help the Iraqis plan their defense in the war.

I think that most people in the US weren't very scandalized by that. Russia is a former enemy, and though relations between the Russians and ourselves are much warmer than they were during the Cold War, no one thinks of them as friends. I think of the Russian government as being out for its own interests, and when their interests coincide with ours then it's possible for us to cooperate. Otherwise it isn't.

I don't have a problem with them acting like that. So the Telegraph's revelation was more a fulfillment of expectations than any kind of shock.

Such is not the case this time. Nelson Ascher sends me this link, where the Telegraph has revealed more information from Iraqi files. If confirmed, this one is a lot more serious.

Germany's intelligence services attempted to build closer links to Saddam's secret service during the build-up to war last year, documents from the bombed Iraqi intelligence HQ in Baghdad obtained by The Telegraph reveal.

They show that an agent named as Johannes William Hoffner, described as a "new German representative in Iraq" who had entered the country under diplomatic cover, attended a meeting with Lt Gen Taher Jalil Haboosh, the director of Iraq's intelligence service.

Since the report is from Iraqi files, and describes an early meeting, what it mostly includes is what General Haboosh told the German that Iraq wanted, and what Iraq was willing to offer in return. Not yet known is whether there were any later meetings, nor what might have been said at them, nor whether any kind of deal was made.

Still, here's the core of it all:

During the meeting, on January 29, 2002, Lt Gen Haboosh says that the Iraqis are keen to have a relationship with Germany's intelligence agency "under diplomatic cover", adding that he hopes to develop that relationship through Mr Hoffner.

The German replies: "My organisation wants to develop its relationship with your organisation."

In return, the Iraqis offered to give lucrative contracts to German companies if the Berlin government helped prevent an American invasion of the country. ...

During the meeting, Lt Gen Haboosh tells the German agent that Iraq has "big problems" with Britain and the United States. "We have problems with Britain because it occupied Iraq for 60 years and with America because of its aggression for 11 years," he says.

He adds, however, that Iraq has no problems with Germany and suggests that Germany will be rewarded with lucrative contracts if it offers international support to Iraq. "When the American conspiracy is finished, we will make a calculation for each state that helps Iraq in its crisis."

This doesn't prove that a treacherous deal was actually made, but even the fact that this German was there (on a diplomatic passport) is itself very bad. But we also see here an Iraqi offer: if war is prevented diplomatically, those who help in doing so will be rewarded. Starting a few months later, we began to see Germany actually work actively to prevent war. That certainly lends credence to the idea that Germany's later emphatic opposition to war was, at least in part, motivated by commercial interests and the hope to win a lucrative reward for helping to prevent it. Even if there was no formal deal, a quid pro quo would certainly have been expected.

And unlike the Russians, this is a nation which is formally an ally of ours. And here they are, shown to be directly dealing with an enemy of ours, and at least entertaining the idea of cooperating with them against us.

That goes well beyond "disagreement between friends". And it's certainly a lot more than "exaggerated comments". The use of a diplomatic passport by Hoffner in order to travel to Baghdad for this meeting tends to argue against the idea of this being some sort of renegade operation.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has got a great deal of explaining to do. And if Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer doesn't walk out of the government because of this, he will no longer be entitled to any respect.