CHOD RESIGNS IN COMMANDO-BOOK SCANDAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L COPENHAGEN 000435

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, EUR/RPM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MARR DA
SUBJECT: CHOD RESIGNS IN COMMANDO-BOOK SCANDAL

REF: USDAO COPENHAGEN 011650Z OCT 09

Classified By: (U) Ambassador Laurie S. Fulton; reason 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Denmark's Chief of Defense Command (CHOD)
Admiral Tim Sloth Joergensen resigned October 4 as a result
of a scandal over an Arabic translation of a controversial
book about Danish commandos that was published over MOD
objections. It has been revealed that an officer on his
staff produced the computerized translation, and another
leaked it to the press. The investigation to date suggests
that neither Joergensen nor Defense Minister Soeren Gade was
aware of the Danish defense establishment's connection to the
translation, but Gade -- at least unwittingly -- misled
Parliament about the origin of the translation. The Prime
Minister's national security advisor confided to the
Ambassador October 5 his personal view that this is a major
crisis for the Government and indicated that the likelihood
of other resignations was "50-50." END SUMMARY.

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(U) FROM CONTROVERSY...
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2. (SBU) On September 16, the Danish newspaper Politiken
published in full the book "Commando - At War With Special
Forces" written by former Danish Special Forces soldier
Thomas Rathsack. It did so knowing that the Ministry of
Defense (MOD) had filed for an injunction against publication
on national-security grounds, and that a court hearing was
scheduled for the following day. The concern was that some
details about commando warfare could help the enemy and
endanger Danish and allied troops in Afghanistan. The
following week, an Arabic translation of the book was found
on the internet; it was of very poor quality, almost
certainly the product of a machine-translation program.
DefMin Soeren Gade told members of Parliament that the
translation had been found on the internet, but not that it
had been put there by his own department. He stated publicly
that the contents of the book were "obviously of interest to
the opposition."

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(U) ...TO CRISIS
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3. (SBU) On October 1, the tabloid Ekstra Bladet claimed
that the translation had been concocted by the chief of the
IT section of MOD, Captain (Navy) Jesper Britze, allegedly at
the instigation of Gade's chief press spokesman Jakob
Winther, apparently in order to enable the minister to show
that the book was a threat to national security. Gade called
an urgent press conference at which he expressed shock and
dismay that anyone within his ministry might have done
anything of the sort. He offered to resign if Parliament had
lost confidence in him. On October 2, Lieutenant Colonel
Lars Sonderskov, Chief of Communications at Defense Command,
admitted he had sent the translation to the Danish newspaper
Berlingske Tidende.


4. (C) Initially, Gade retained the support of the parties
in Government (his own Liberals and the Conservatives) and of
the Danish People's Party which supports the Government from
outside the coalition. The largest opposition group, the
Social Democratic Party (SDP),declared October 1 that it was
"satisfied for now" with his explanation, but quickly changed
its mind and called for Gade's resignation. Its ally the
Socialist People's Party was less aggressive, insisting
merely than nobody is immune from accountability. CHOD
Joergensen initially rebuffed suggestions that he should
resign over the actions of his subordinate, but after meeting
with Gade October 3, he announced his resignation October 4.
Gade then publicly expressed his regret and respect for the
CHOD's decision. On October 5, Gade reported on MOD's
handling of the affair to the parties to the Defense
Agreement (i.e. the ruling coalition, Danish People's Party,
SDP, Socialist People's Party, and Social Liberals).
Accompanying him was Permanent Under Secretary of Defense
Lars Findsen, a career civil servant, who has been faulted
for failing to tell Gade promptly that the translation was
machine-produced and of poor quality. The meeting evidently
went well: afterwards, the opposition parties said they
would await the outcome of two separate investigations that
MOD auditors have begun, before deciding whether to call for
an independent investigation. The SDP did not withdraw its
call for Gade's resignation, however.


5. (C/NF) The Prime Minister's national security advisor,
Thomas Ahrenkiel, who is also a civil servant, confided to
the Ambassador earlier October 5 his personal view that this
is a major crisis for the Government; he indicated that the
likelihood of additional resignations is "50-50."
Resignation of a minister would be a big loss for PM Lars
Loekke Rasmussen, Ahrenkiel commented; those in charge must
retain trust and confidence, especially while Danish soldiers
are fighting in Afghanistan.


6. (C) The timing of this scandal is especially awkward:
the formal opening of Parliament is scheduled for October 6,
at which the PM is due to give his first State of the Nation
speech. He will want the focus to be on his legislative
agenda, not on these actions in which the political
leadership appears to have had no role.
FULTON