BUNDESTAG INTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001740 SIPDIS STATE FOR L AND EUR/AGS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2017 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV GM SUBJECT: BUNDESTAG INTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE RECONVENES WITH FULL AGENDA AHEAD REF: BERLIN 164 Classified By: DCM John Koenig for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). SUMMARY ¶1. (C) On September 13 the Bundestag's Committee of Inquiry will meet again following the summer recess and continue the process of questioning individuals concerning the activities of German intelligence and security agencies relating to the Iraq war, the alleged abduction and transport of terrorism suspects via German territory on secret flights, and related issues. The next sessions will conclude interviews from witnesses concerning the circumstances surrounding the abduction and transfer to Guantanamo of Murat Kurnaz followed by the cases of terrorism suspects Khaled El-Masri, Muhammad Haydar Zammar, and Abdul H. Khafagy. The recent appointment of former Federal Data Protection Commissioner Joachim Jacob as a special investigator for the committee to examine the issue of the alleged abduction of terrorism suspects by US agencies and their transport over German territory will place heightened attention on alleged US activities and US-German cooperation in this regard. The committee will subsequently take up the issues of the cooperation of German intelligence officials based in Baghdad in early 2003 with US agencies, and, lastly, the allegations that German intelligence agencies monitored and investigated journalists as well as exerted influence on media reporting. ¶2. (C) Given his role in the previous government, FM Steinmeier (SPD) has come under special scrutiny and has been dogged by accusations that he was either aware or complicit in a number of the activities under investigation during his time as intelligence coordinator in the Federal Chancellery under the previous government. He appears to have withstood the most severe criticisms, but opposition parties continue to press forward with the committee as it provides opportunities for political gain and showmanship. For this reason, as well as fact that there is still much of the committee's mandate to complete, it is expected that the committee will continue through the end of the legislative period (i.e., until the next federal elections in fall 2009). End Summary Origins and Mandate of the Committee of Inquiry -------------- -- ¶3. (U) The Bundestag Committee of Inquiry was established in April 2006 following the 20 February 2006 release of a government report presented to the Bundestag's Parliamentary Control Panel titled: "On events relating to the Iraq War and combating international terrorism." (Note: The German-language report is available online at www.bundestag.de/aktuell/archiv /2006/pkgr irak/ bericht breg offen.pdf/) The committee was established in order to clarify unresolved questions related to the report as well as to make assessments and conclusions concerning the activities described. In particular, the committee is to clarify what political directions were given for the actions of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND),Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV),Federal Armed Forces Counterintelligence Office (MAD),Federal Prosecutor General (GBA) and Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in connection with the events described in the report and how political leadership and oversight were provided and ensured. ¶4. (U) The events to be examined by the committee include the overall issue of "CIA flights and the (secret) prisons for terror suspects operated by American agencies," and the arrests and alleged abductions of German citizens or residents including Murat Kurnaz, Abdul H. Khafagy, Khaled El-Masri and Muhammad Haydar Zammar. The actions of two BND officers posted to Baghdad in early 2003 are under examination and specifically whether information they obtained concerning the Iraqi military's plan for the defense of Baghdad was relayed to US authorities. Finally, the committee will take up the issue of who within the Federal Chancellery, and at senior levels of the intelligence service, knew that the BND was monitoring and investigating journalists as well as exerting influence on media reporting. (Note: The mandate for the committee is available online in English at www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse /ua/1 ua/auftrag/ auftrag erweiter eng.pdf) BERLIN 00001740 002 OF 003 Progress to Date -------------- ¶5. (U) The committee has held over 50 sessions since it began its work a year and a half ago. Witnesses called before the committee have included former Interior Minister Schily, former FM Fischer, current FM Steinmeier and the current and former heads of the various intelligence and security services. Senior Chancellery officials, Defense Ministry representatives and even the former DCM at the German embassy in Washington DC have been called to testify. Many of the sessions are open to the public and summary reports are available on the Bundestag's website. ¶6. (C) As a result of the tendency of opposition party committee members to call witnesses that they believe will provide them the opportunity to criticize the decisions of the former government, the committee's work has proceeded in a somewhat unfocussed manner. The committee has tended to follow whatever issue (e.g., Kurnaz's release from Guantanamo) is making current media headlines. The recent appointment of an independent special investigator (see below) is an attempt to remedy this characteristic of the committee's work, at least as far as the overflights topic is concerned. Special Investigator Joachim Jacob -------------- ¶7. (C) The recent appointment of Joachim Jacob, who from 1993 to 2003 was the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection, as a special investigator will place extra emphasis on the issue of alleged CIA overflights of German territory. Jacob, who will begin his work shortly, is tasked with focusing solely on the overflights issue and is to provide a report to the committee by 25 February 2008 on his findings. Jacob will review relevant materials and meet with individuals of interest. A staffer of Thomas Oppermann, the senior SPD Bundestag member on the committee, indicated that Jacob will screen documents and potential witnesses in order to avoid situations in which the committee asks for testimonies from officials who cannot usefully contribute to the work of the committee. The full committee will then review his report and will be free to act on Jacob's recommendations and/or expand on them. ¶8. (C) Oppermann's staffer indicated that the creation of Jacob's position was supported by the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition partners as a means of ensuring that opposition parliamentarians do not divert or needlessly waste the committee's time by calling unnecessary witnesses. Many SPD parliamentarians and especially SPD officials who were active in the former government are particularly eager to limit opposition party attempts to score political points in the committee. In any case, Jacob is seen as both competent and politically independent and is expected to carry out his work pragmatically. Looking Ahead -------------- ¶9. (C) Global Affairs Officer met with Torsten Akmann, who leads the Chancellery's project group dealing with the investigative committee, to discuss the committee's activities and plans. Akmann coordinates a weekly interagency meeting to coordinate government responses to the committee's requests. Akmann indicated that the committee will reconvene to first finish interviewing witnesses related to the case of Murat Kurnaz. The sequence of the committee's subsequent work will proceed as follows: El-Masri, Zammar, Khafagy, overflights, BND involvement in Iraq war, and the monitoring of journalists. ¶10. (C) Though many in the current grand coalition government, especially those who held senior posts in the former SPD-Green government, would be pleased to see the committee conclude its work, the opposition has the right to keep the committee going through the end of the current legislative period and has every intention to do so given the opportunities it provides for raising their political visibility. The fact that the majority of the issues being examined by the committee touch upon sensitive activities with alleged US involvement indicates that media attention will continue to be given to US policies in this regard. BERLIN 00001740 003 OF 003 TIMKEN JR