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German spies in Baghdad actively supported the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq despite government denials, opposition parties said on Thursday before the two secret agents' testimony to a parliamentary panel.
"The records unfortunately contradict completely the government's position that it was not involved," Norman Paech, a member of the investigative committee from the Left party, told reporters before the closed-door hearing.
The issue could embarrass Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier, the Social Democrats' candidate for chancellor in next year's elections, who oversaw intelligence operations at the time of the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Both agents in Baghdad reported to Germany's BND intelligence agency, which passed on at least part of their information to the U.S. military. The parliamentary committee seeks to determine whether this actively helped the war effort.
The case caused uproar when it leaked out in early 2006 because the German government and public opinion strongly opposed the U.S. invasion. Then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder tapped this anti-war sentiment to win a close election in 2002.
Peach and fellow committee member Hans-Christian Stroebele from the opposition Greens party said the spies in Baghdad passed on information on expected resistance and coordinates for military positions that were subsequently bombed.
It was unclear whether Steinmeier, then Schroeder's top aide, was aware of these activities, Stroebele said.
Max Stadler from the liberal Free Democrats party said it was important not to leap to conclusions but said the spies had fed information on the effectiveness of bombing raids.
In one case, U.S. bombers struck an Iraqi officers club twice in four days after getting feedback from the agents.
The Social Democrats, now coalition partners with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, rejected accusations that the spies' work had led directly to military action.
"No evidence for this has been presented so far," SPD delegate Michael Hartmann said.
Steinmeier said in a newspaper interview that the public would not buy the argument that the presence of two BND spies in Iraq was enough "to make Germany a warring party after the fact."
Germany's spy chief and the agents had assured members of parliament in January 2006 that they did not help the United States pick out bombing targets during the invasion of Iraq but that failed to halt demands for an inquiry.
PHOTO CAPTION
Early US strikes which targeted government buildings in Baghdad
Reuters
