Sweden, while publicly protesting, aided US invasion of Iraq - report

Published time: September 04, 2012 03:51
Edited time: September 04, 2012 08:06
Iraqis check the damage of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) headquarters in Baghdad 28 October 2003, which was attacked  (AFP Photo / Karim Sahib)

A Swedish intelligence agency gave crucial information to the US about targets for a bombing raid in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a Swedish newspaper reports, citing previously classified documents from the US military's Central Command.

The information regarded Swedish-built bunkers in Baghdad that were officially designated as civilian shelters, but that the Pentagon suspected of being used by the Iraqi military or officials from the government of Saddam Hussein.

Documents obtained by Expressen, the Swedish newspaper that broke the story, show that "intelligence exchanged with Sweden and the US" gave American military planners information on what to hit in an aerial assault to be carried out in March 2003.

Expressen had earlier reported of a clandestine January-February 2003 meeting between high-ranking American military experts and MUST, Sweden's military intelligence agency. As a result of that report, an investigation was launched by a Swedish prosecutor into whether a MUST employee had leaked classified information to the US.

But the inquiry was cut short after it was determined that espionage had not taken place.

And as American experts were meeting with Swedish intelligence, Sweden's leaders were protesting any invasion of Iraq that proceeded without the United Nations' approval. At the time of the invasion, in late March 2003, then-Prime Minister Goran Persson called the unilateral invasion "unfortunate."

"Unlike the United States, Sweden views a military attack on Iraq without the support of the UN Security Council as a breach of human rights," he said the day after the opening assault on Iraq by US-led forces.

Now, the discovery that Swedish intelligence gave the US information instrumental to that attack has brought former Left Party head Lars Ohly to call for a further investigation into whether MUST was authorized to aid the US in such a way – and if so, by whom.

"If a Swedish agency acted without the government's knowledge or permission, that's serious because that means the government doesn't have control over its public agencies," Ohly told Expressen.

Persson said he "has no recollection" of whether he was informed of Swedish intelligence's collaboration with the US in the run-up to the war.

Comments (15)

AmericanInRomania (unregistered) 04.09.2012 17:10

teddyformusic wrote in #15
isn't it amazingly IRONIC? the more the USA CLINGS to its "righteous empire" Delusions -- the more it is exposed - country by country in THEIR exposure for being SERVANTS of the USA to SUPPRESS their own people and others to be delivered into Enslavement to the American "way" (economic, cultural, political, resource-wise, markets, labor, etc) -- as the REAL EVIL EMPIRE. ============= decad es ago - Reagan was "celebrated" and TODAY still treated like SAINT RONALD in america (and among the Thatcherites , Blair, etc) -for supposedly being so BRAVE to tell the Soviets "Tear down this wall" -- and to call the USSR "THE EVIL EMPIRE"..... when -- all along - LONG before the USSR ever came into existence -- it WAS and ALWAYS HAS BEEN THE USA that is the world's EVIL EMPIRE -- hiding behind its Hypocritical Facade of "democracy, freedom, justice, truth and the american way"....... it turns out -- THE AMERICAN WAY is THE EVIL WAY .  well....the NATIVE INDIAN AMERICANS would know everything abotu THAT "american way" , after all..............it' s just that the REST of the World is finding out more and more just how VICIOUS that  American EVIL is. ________________ _I don't know about others, but myself and everybody I have known or seen being born and growing up in the United States and how it looks, but I have never heard of an American feeling "enslaved" by the government or "servants"
You should visit New York City sometime.... you would have a VERY different perspective and realize you are only babbling propaganda.  Americans are people, just like any people anywhere.  No boggy-men in the world, only people being people.

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teddyformusic 04.09.2012 16:56

isn't it amazingly IRONIC? the more the USA CLINGS to its "righteous empire" Delusions -- the more it is exposed - country by country in THEIR exposure for being SERVANTS of the USA to SUPPRESS their own people and others to be delivered into Enslavement to the American "way" (economic, cultural, political, resource-wise, markets, labor, etc) -- as the REAL EVIL EMPIRE. ============= decad es ago - Reagan was "celebrated" and TODAY still treated like SAINT RONALD in america (and among the Thatcherites , Blair, etc) -for supposedly being so BRAVE to tell the Soviets "Tear down this wall" -- and to call the USSR "THE EVIL EMPIRE"..... when -- all along - LONG before the USSR ever came into existence -- it WAS and ALWAYS HAS BEEN THE USA that is the world's EVIL EMPIRE -- hiding behind its Hypocritical Facade of "democracy, freedom, justice, truth and the american way"....... it turns out -- THE AMERICAN WAY is THE EVIL WAY .  well....the NATIVE INDIAN AMERICANS would know everything abotu THAT "american way" , after all..............it' s just that the REST of the World is finding out more and more just how VICIOUS that  American EVIL is.

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teddyformusic 04.09.2012 16:50

Cossack (unregistered) wrote in #12bark obomber "The world changed the day they assassinated JFK."The above is nonsense.  JFK was a debauched womanizer....who made sure he had ten thousand Cuban cigars before signing the embargo on Cuba.The world changed with the untimely death of the Great FDR (suspicious!) and the election of Truman the war criminal...Check out FDR's, Second Bill of Rights and you will see why his death was very auspicious to all right wing 'Repiglican' fascists and they are still at it today. After all they even tried to pull off a military coupe. If Romney his cult win, Americans can bend over put their heads between their legs and kiss their donkeys goodbye."So long as they hate me I know that I am doing the right thing for the American people."  FDR after the discovery of the planned coupe...  ======== ============= even to most americans -- that is little known or remembered or learned: how the very rich bankers and corporate masters and ruling classes literally tried to stage a Fascist Coup and replace FDR. they actually "offered" the "leadership" to General Smedley Butler, US Marines, himself because at that time HE was the US Empire's "Chief High Class Muscle Enforcer for our Policies of cultural and economic assault upon countries in 3 continents for our War and Money Racketeers".....but he refused and exposed them....after he couldn't take anymore that "for 30 years i served, suspending my own conscience, KNOWING that what WE DO IS EVIL".   

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