from: [Eric LC]
to: [Matthew Karnitschnig]
date: Oct 5, 2019, 1:59 PM
subject: Regarding Germany's opposition to the US on Iraq in "The end of the German-American affair" (Politico.eu)
Mr. Karnitschnig,
I use the primary source authorities, i.e., the set of controlling law, policy, and precedent and determinative facts that define OIF's justification, at Operation Iraqi Freedom FAQ to clarify the Iraq issue and correct for the prevalent conjecture, distorted context, and misinformation that have obfuscated the Iraq issue.
With that, I am writing you regarding this statement in your 24SEP19 Politico.eu article, The end of the German-American affair:
Berlin refused to participate in the Iraq War, arguing there wasn’t enough evidence to support claims that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
While Germany’s decision under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder proved to be prescient, it also left a wound that has never fully healed.
While Germany’s decision under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder proved to be prescient, it also left a wound that has never fully healed.
Actually, Chancellor Schröder was wrong on Iraq. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair's decision on Iraq was demonstrably correct: the case against Saddam is substantiated.
Worse, Germany was instrumental in Saddam's choice to cause the Iraq War.
By procedure, only Iraq’s noncompliance with its Gulf War ceasefire-mandated obligations could trigger the credible threat to bring Iraq into its mandated compliance via regime change, which capacitated Iraq's "final opportunity to comply" (UNSCR 1441). Only "full and immediate compliance by Iraq without conditions or restrictions with its obligations under resolution 687 (1991) and other relevant resolutions" (UNSCR 1441) could switch off the enforcement threat. Yet German complicity with the Saddam regime's "continued violations of its obligations" (UNSCR 1441) and opposition to the necessary threat that capacitated Iraq's "final opportunity to comply" (UNSCR 1441) influenced Saddam to choose "material breach" (UNSCR 1441) of the Gulf War ceasefire, i.e., casus belli:
At the decision point for OIF, the Saddam regime was evidentially in material breach across the board of the Gulf War ceasefire terms. The principal cause for OIF was Iraq's failure to comply and disarm as mandated with the UNSCR 1441 inspections. In Saddam's "final opportunity to comply" with "full and immediate compliance by Iraq without conditions or restrictions with its obligations" (UNSCR 1441), Iraq's "material breach" (UNSCR 1441) of the Gulf War ceasefire WMD mandates was established by UNSCOM, decided by the UN Security Council, [and] confirmed by UNMOVIC to trigger the decision for OIF[.]The German argument that "there wasn’t enough evidence to support claims that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction" is based on a fundamental false premise. In the Gulf War ceasefire disarmament process, there was no burden on the Gulf War ceasefire enforcers to demonstrate Saddam's WMD. Saddam's proscribed armament, including WMD stockpiles, was established fact upon which the burden was on Iraq to prove it disarmed in accordance with UNSCRs 687 and 1441. By procedure, casus belli was established when UNMOVIC assessed Saddam did not disarm as mandated in Iraq's "final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" (UNSCR 1441). The Iraq Survey Group subsequently corroborated that "ISG judges that Iraq failed to comply with UNSCRs" and "the Iraqis never intended to meet the spirit of the UNSC’s resolutions".
Germany's political campaign to shift the burden of proof away from Iraq proving "full and immediate compliance by Iraq without conditions or restrictions with its obligations under resolution 687 (1991) and other relevant resolutions" (UNSCR 1441) and onto the Gulf War ceasefire enforcers to demonstrate Saddam's WMD is a stratagem that obfuscated the "governing standard of Iraqi compliance" (UNSCR 1441) and operative disarmament procedure for Iraq and covers up the German role in Saddam's violations. Excerpt from the Iraq WMD watchdog, Iraq Watch:
The data reveals that firms in Germany and France outstripped all others in selling the most important thing — specialized chemical-industry equipment that is particularly useful for producing poison gas. Without this equipment, none of the other imports would have been of much use.Fact findings on German complicity in the Saddam regime's "material breach" (UNSCR 1441) of the Gulf War ceasefire are referenced in the Regime Finance and Procurement section of the Iraq Survey Group report, Iraq's Suppliers at Iraq Watch, and IIC's Report on the Manipulation of the Oil-for-Food Programme.
In addition to the German complicity with Saddam, the Iraqi Perspectives Project assessment of Saddam's "regional and global terrorism" (IPP), which also breached the Gulf War ceasefire, further incriminates Berlin's opposition to Washington and London on Iraq as a betrayal of Germany's obligation to NATO and "a wound that has never fully healed" with "profound implications for the future of NATO and the broader global order". Excerpt:
Under Saddam, the Iraqi regime used its paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam training camps to train terrorists for use inside and outside Iraq. In 1999, the top ten graduates of each Fedayeen Saddam class were specifically chosen for assignment to London, from there to be ready to conduct operations anywhere in Europe.The basic steps for Germany to heal the "wound that has never fully healed" are a formal apology and amends to its NATO allies and the international community for undermining and misrepresenting the Gulf War ceasefire compliance enforcement, which should feature substantial aid to Iraq as amends for the German complicity that exacerbated the noncompliant tyrannical Saddam regime.
A Fedayeen Saddam planner outlines the general plan for terrorist operations in the Kurdish areas, Iran, and London, to "His Excellency, Mr. Supervisor" (the title for the head of the Fedayeen Saddam, a position occupied by Uday Hussein, Saddam's oldest son). This memorandum (Extract 1) specifically states that these "trainees" are designated for martyrdom [suicide or suicidal] operations.
... Two other documents present evidence of logistical preparation for terrorist operations in other nations, including those in the West.
I hope you find the OIF FAQ and these comments useful. If you have questions about my work, please ask.
Related: Regarding pundits and David Brooks's "Saving the System" and Expanded list of responses to leaders, pundits, and other media.