German spy boss threatens Wikileaks
p2pnet news view | P2P | Politics:- The BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst), Germany’s CIA equivalent, says it’ll launch “immediate criminal prosecution” at Wikileaks with if it doesn’t take down all, “files or reports related to the BND”.
And to make it clear he’s serious, spy boss Ernst Uhrlau (right), “claims to have already engaged the BND’s legal machinery,”says Wikileaks, saying last month, “an international scandal broke out after three BND secret agents were arrested and deported from Kosovo after photographing a bomb site”.
German magazine Der Spiegel described it as a “covert cock-up”.
The spy agency threats made by Uhrlau, “were triggered by the Wikileaks publication of an article by Tom Burghardt, a US journalist, on the BND’s bungled Kosovo operation, together with a classified BND dossier on senior Kosovo figures from 2005 — both of which were specifically named by Mr. Uhrlau,” says Wikileaks, going on »»»
The BND, like the CIA, is forbidden by law to engage in domestic activities. Yet the threats, which were made in German as well as in English, hold no legal power outside of Germany. They must be assumed to be an attempt to engage Wikileaks via its German component–or does Mr. Uhrlau suggest it is now BND policy to kidnap foreign journalists and try them before German courts?
Clearly the BND has learned nothing from the 2006 “Schaefer report” of the Bundestag which condemned illegal BND attempts to influence the German press. Indeed, an unredacted portion of the Schaefer report, which refers to BND attempts to influence Germany’s Focus magazine, is one of the “files or reports related to the BND” released by Wikileaks.
The BND has disgraced Germany by engaging in the same illegal domestic interference that it was condemned for a mere two years ago.
Mr. Uhrlau was appointed BND President in 2005.
The contempt shown to German constitution, the Bundestag and also to the press demands Mr. Uhrlau’s immediate resignation.
The, “ineptitude of three agents in Germany’s foreign intelligence agency has endangered one of the organization`s most important operations: building up its secret network of informants in Kosovo,” says Der Spiegle, continuing:
“It has also strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.”
It adds, “Police arrested the three Germans nearly two weeks ago under suspicion of throwing explosives at the office of the EU Special Representative in Kosovo on Nov. 14.”
Now, “It remains to be seen how the scandal will affect long-term relations between Berlin and Pristina. However, one thing is already clear. Thanks to the inept behavior of its agents, Germany’s foreign intelligence service may have irreparably damaged one of its most important operations.”
(Thanks, Luvie)
Wikileaks – German spy chief threatens Wikileaks, December 19, 2008
Der Spiegle - Germany’s Failed Spy Mission in Kosovo, December 1, 2008
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December 22nd, 2008 at 10:16 am
Governments have threatened wikileaks before, and since the site is distributed around the globe and has many, many redundancies this latest action, like all the others, will achieve nothing bar further embarrassment to the germans.
Which is nice.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:03 am
BND? What kind of crap is the BND? And this spy boss Ernst Uhrlau is Hugly. He look like a toad.
Does he really want to go after wikileak? Good luke with that!