Danish intelligence service reports ongoing high risk to troops in Iraq

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Monday January 16, 2006 21:35 by Coilín ÓhAiseadha Máigh Nuad, Co. Cill Dara

Social Democrats and Social Liberals refuse to negotiate further extensions

The Danish Defence Intelligence Service predicts an ongoing very high level of threat to the Danish troops in Iraq, according to the government’s proposal to extend Denmark’s military presence

After the end of the next five months’ extension, due to be passed at the end of this month, the Danish Social Democrats and Social Liberals have stated that they will no longer support Denmark’s military presence in Iraq, since the government is not willing to set a deadline for withdrawal of the Danish troops.

Also, prize-winning journalist Bo Elkjær complains again to the Ombudsman about the Prime Minister's and the Minister of Foreign Affairs' refusal to give interviews.

Translated newspaper article:

DDIS: The threat to the Danish force in Iraq continues
Berlingske Tidende 13 January 2006

Risk: The Danish Defence Intelligence Service predicts an ongoing very high level of threat to the Danish troops in Iraq, according to the government’s proposal to extend Denmark’s military presence

By Jesper Larsen

Despite Iraq’s democratic development with the successful parliamentary elections recently and the work of forming a new government, the security situation and the risk of enemy attack on the Danish force is still completely unchanged. This applies not least to the threat from improvised explosive devices in the form of roadside bombs – which last year caused the death of a Danish soldier – as well as other, more direct terrorist attacks on the approximately 550 Danish troops in the country.

“The threat of attack against the Danish forces, including the terrorist threat, is assessed as high in southern Iraq and very high in central Iraq,” according to the risk assessment from the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS), which is included in the government’s proposal for a parliamentary resolution concerning an extension of Denmark’s military presence up to July.
“Resistance groups frequently attack with improvised explosive devices, mainly in the form of roadside bombs. The threat from this type of attack will continue,” the DDIS predicts.

Threats from many sides
In fact, the intelligence service’s analysis in the government’s proposal for a parliamentary resolution, which was last year sent from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs a sad repetition of the last analysis, and, indeed, also of the previous analysis, down to the comma and last full stop. For there is still little light to be seen, as regards the security of Danish soldiers in Iraq, who regardless of developments only have support up to summer.
“A range of groups and organisations in Iraq are conducting extensive espionage against the multinational force, including the Danish force in the province of Basra.
The espionage is conducted primarily by Iraqi rebel groups, criminal organisations, certain militias and tribes, as well as foreign intelligence services,” explains DDIS and continues: “The threat from espionage against the Danish forces in Iraq are therefore judged to be high. The threat from biological and chemical weapons is judged to be low, while the threat from terrorist groups’ home-made biological and chemical weapons is judged to be medium.”

Last broad mandate period
After the Social Democrats and the Social Liberal Party recently announced that they would not participate in further negotiations about the Iraq mandate – which they nevertheless still vote for together with the Conservatives, Liberals and Danish People’s Party later this month – the government has found itself alone in drafting the proposal for a parliamentary resolution, which proposes a higher degree of training for the Iraqi police and military.

After the end of this five months’ extension, both the Social Liberals and the Social Democrats have stated that they will not support Denmark’s military presence in Iraq, since the government is not willing to set a deadline for withdrawal of the Danish troops.

jela @ berlingske.dk


Facts: Brief summary

Denmark is participating with about 550 soldiers in the so-called multinational security force in Iraq, together with Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, El Salvador, Estonia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, the Czech Republic and the United States.
Provisionally, Denmark will participate in the security force until summer.


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Complaint regarding Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for breach of the Danish freedom of information act

Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:24:57 +0100
Subject: Complaint regarding Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for breach of the Danish freedom of information act
From: "Bo Elkjær"
To: ombudsmanden@ombudsmanden.dk
Cc: stm@stm.dk, permol@um.dk, um@um.dk


Dear Ombudsman Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen

Thank you very much for your letter in mid-December regarding the attached complaint concerning Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller.

I understand that you have requested Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller to reply directly to me concerning the complaint. This they have not done, despite repeated, indeed almost daily requests on my part.

For more than two and a half years now, I have been requesting an interview with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning the war in Iraq. I have written almost every day since August 2005. The only reaction from the Prime Minister´s Department has been two letters, which merely state that the Prime Minister "has nothing further to add". Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller deletes my e-mails without reading them.

I must consequently repeat and maintain my complaint. I naturally regard the case as being significant for society as a whole, but also very much as a question of principle: I do not believe that it is in accord with the Danish freedom of information act to choose, and especially to reject, media as one finds convenient.

I look forward to hearing from the Ombudsman. If required, I will be happy to forward the extensive documentation that I possess pertaining to my interview requests.

Yours sincerely,
Bo Elkjær


-----Original message -----
From: Bo Elkjær
Date: 30 November 2005 08:20
To: ombudsmanden@ombudsmanden.dk
Cc: um@um.dk; permol@um.dk; Statsministeriet; fe@fe-mail.dk
Subject: Complaint regarding Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for breach of the Danish freedom of information act

Dear Ombudsman Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen

I would like to complain about Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller’s handling of communications concerning requests for interviews from myself.

Ekstra Bladet has now for more than two years requested Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for an appointment for an interview concerning the government’s reason for going to war. Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller himself initially said that Ekstra Bladet would “get an appointment” – but has since than systematically held the newspaper at bay with non-committal promises, blank refusals and silence.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller has on repeated occasions participated in interviews concerning the Iraq war and the government’s reason for participating in the war in a broad range of electronic and print media. It is thus not a matter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs being generally unwilling to provide the public with information about this reason to go to war, it is – as far as I am aware – Ekstra Bladet alone the Minister of Foreign Affairs is selecting out.

Apart from the purely principal democratic problem - that an attempt is being made to kill journalism on this vitally important area by silence – it is my opinion that the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ behaviour is a clear infringement of the Danish freedom of information act. My understanding of the legal principle of public access to information is that equality before the law also applies in this area and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs is not entitled to choose freely and on the basis of his own subjective judgements which media he will make statements to, and which media he will refuse to make statements to. Here, I refer to the Ombudsman’s ruling J.no. 2003-0322-401.

I regret that the matter has gone so far that it is necessary to complain to the Ombudsman in order to bring the government to speak about such a matter of such vitally important scope and of such great popular interest as the decision to go to war must be said to be. One of the fundamental principles of journalism is to hear all parties in the case that is being covered – and in this case, this has turned out to be associated with insurmountable difficulties.

Yours sincerely,
Bo Elkjær, Ekstra Bladet
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Bo Elkjær shared the prestigious Cavling Prize for journalism, awarded in January 2004, for his investigative reporting of the falsification of the foundation for Denmark's decision to participate in the invasion of Iraq.