Saddam Regime Document Dated January 2003: The French and German Connections (Translation)

In this document ISGZ-2004-028179 there is a report by the Assistant of the Iraqi Intelligence Director to his boss “The Director” dated January/23/2003 regarding the visit of one German and one Frenchman to Iraq and these two guys talk about their strong relation with the top government officials in both France and Germany. In this letter the German that German Chancellor Schroeder was totally opposed to the idea of the war in Iraq and it his opposition to the possible war that made him win the German elections held in 2002. Also there is an important part of the letter where it mention the visit of German Chancellor to meet with the Chinese Prime minister and that the Chinese PM told Schroeder “about the information that was obtained by the Chinese intelligence and it says that Iraq has moved his mass of destruction weapon to Syria and the German Chancellor told him that the German intelligence did not indicate this. And after two days the US state secretary went to Damascus to check on this with the Syrian government that in turn denied this news.” Also in the letter it show the fear of the French to join the war because of the heavy losses that will suffer..

In the date of 10/1/2003 the two mentioned above arrived to the country in visit for two days only and they did during their stay with the following activities:

1. They met with the deputy of the Industry and minerals ministry and they spoke with him about the possibility of building the non working factories since the year 1991 and provide the country with the spare parts that the ministry needs in the domain of industry.

2. They met with Mr. Ghazi Faysal the chairman of the department First Political Department in the foreign ministry and they spoke with him about the following subjects:

A. The German Holtzer confirmed that Chancellor Shroeder does not like the Leader President but he still oppose the war and it is because of his stand on this he won the latest elections and in case his stand changes this will lead to his loss of the Chancellery and that he hot replacement is ready to win the position and he is the economy minister the German Clement from the ruling Socialist German Party.

B. He mentioned that a meeting in Beijing in the beginning of this month was held between the Prime minister of China and the German Chancellor Schroeder in the occasion of the opening project for the fast train and the latter was asked about the information that was obtained by the Chinese intelligence and it says that Iraq has moved his mass of destruction weapon to Syria and the German Chancellor told him that the German intelligence did not indicate this. And after two days the US state secretary went to Damascus to check on this with the Syrian government that in turn denied this news..

C. He suggested the idea of bringing the Pope John Paul II to visit the country because this visit cause Bush Junior to lose his balance and that he has good relation with the originally German (Ratzinger) in the Vatican and that the latter has influence has influence through waving the card of the financial support that Germany give to the Vatican and it is estimated to be (around 6 billions dollars yearly).

D. He indicated that Chirac became a honorary President of Europe not through elections but through popularity since most of the countries of Europe oppose the war but this man is not courageous and he needs the support of Iraq and for example present what proves that his weapons of mass destruction were destroyed.

C. He express the readiness of French and German companies to execute projects in Iraq as long as the necessary moneys are guaranteed to execute these projects because its revenue decreased lately due the decrease of oil exports.

A. He was shown a secret report prepared by the French Army Chief of Staff who presented to Jacques Chirac warning him of the losses that the French troops suffered in Spain and Germany during Napoleon campaigns because the participation of France in the possible war against Iraq will let her suffer huge human losses because it is impossible getting the Iraqi President by aerial bombing and that the entering in street fights will be a disaster for them

B. He intend to buy a residential house in Baghdad under the name of his wife where as his wife is Palestinian and that he visited one of the houses in Arsat and he paid the house own (150) 150 thousand dollars but the latter asked for 300 thousand dollars.

A. There phone has been wiretapped for surveillance and they were followed and also the there was phone wiretap of the Syrian Jamal Saba for surveillance because they vist him and to control their relations and we will show the results later.

B. The Paris station informed us that they were coming to the country to prepare for a visit by the ex-German economy minister with a delegation of German companies to the country for commercial purposes and their visit to the country was shortened because this is not the first time we have doubts about their real intentions toward the country.

C. We prpose to continue in following them inside the country and direct the Paris station with the necessity to put them under an operation of check up and verification and observe their connections.

All of this business about France and oil reminded me of another line of research that was happening last fall. This is in regard to the forged Niger documents and Joe Wilson. We had a couple of very interesting articles posted by paperjam on her research into the huge oil interests France had in Iraq to keep the US out and to get the sanctions lifted.

Is this the "French Connection" we were looking for?
Self | 30 October, 2005 | Paperjam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1515785/posts

One of the oil companies in Gabon (AF's note: Wilson was ambassador to Gabon) is one called Elf. On Oct. 29, 1997 Elf Gabon reported a new onshore discovery and at the time they had a 60 % stake in the development, in association with the Gabonese government, which retains the remaining 40%.
See: http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/discover/dix75048.htm
However, as of 1996 the company was already hurting by reduced output in their other wells and the country was in trouble with imports becoming so cheap that in-country manufacturing fell to very low levels. Elf was rocked by allegations of slush funds and corruption and a trail of the executives of Elf, which concluded in Paris just last year told a story of slush funds and misappropriation going back for decades.
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3733578.stm
In 1999, Total merged with Fina and Elf to form TotalFinaElf. More on this to follow!
See: http://www.total.com/en/press/press_releases/pr_1999/990723_board_elf_aquitaine_meets_1898.htm
This is where it gets interesting.
“One day after President Bush's demand that Iraq comply with United Nations arms control resolutions, three French parliamentary deputies flew to Iraq on what they described as a personal visit to urge Baghdad to comply with the demands.
The visit set off a political storm in France, where much is riding on the outcome of the diplomatic struggle over Iraq. While a humanitarian gesture, the trip also illustrated in part how countries are positioning themselves for an end of trade penalties. One of the three legislators, Thierry Mariani, 44, of President Jacques Chirac's Union for a Presidential Majority, told French television that the purpose of the trip was to urge Iraqi compliance with the United Nations' demands. But he was also quoted in Le Monde as justifying the trip with "the defense of French economic interests in Iraq."
Last year, France ranked No. 1 among European countries doing business with Iraq, with $1.5 billion in trade, followed by Italy, with $1 billion. Among the countries that trade with Iraq under the oil-for-food program, France ranked third, with $3.1 billion in trade since the program's start 1996. French trade under the program was surpassed only by Russia, with $4.3 billion, and Egypt, according to United Nations diplomats.
The French oil giant TotalFinaElf has the largest position in Iraq, with exclusive negotiating rights to develop Majnoon, a field on the Iranian border with estimated reserves of 10 billion barrels, and Bin Umar, with an estimated production potential of 440,000 barrels a day, according to oil industry executives.”
See: http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2002/0919threats.htm
“French oil giant TotalFinaElf has exclusive exploration contracts worth €60bn - €75bn to develop the massive Majnoon and Bin Umar oilfields in southern Iraq,” said David Perle former US Assistant Defense Secretary before Saddam was ousted. “What’s distinctive about the Total contract is that it’s not favourable to Iraq, it’s favourable to Total.” He said oil experts who had analyzed the deal described it as “extraordinarily lopsided” in favour of the French company with the well connected Canadian shareholders. The one thing Perle didn’t know was that this very lucrative deal was contingent on UN sanctions being lifted, a move that assured Saddam a lot of support at the UN, especially if he was entering contracts with big payofffs like this.
See: http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/2005032901363934
As of September 2003, TotalFinaElf officially became Total.
Now known as TOTAL, after a name change from TotalFinaElf, the company is the world's fifth largest integrated oil and gas company. It is based in Paris, operates in 120 countries with exploration and production activity in 44 countries and production in 27. The company has 2.4 million barrels per day of production, which compares with 4.2 million barrels daily for Exxon Mobil Corp. and 3.5 million barrels/day for BP plc. The company has 11.2 billion barrels of reserves and has been averaging a 2.5 percent annual growth in production but saw a 10 percent increase between 2001 and 2002.
The new TOTAL was created through two successive mergers, the first when the former Total joined with Belgian oil company Petrofina to form Totalfina, and the second when Totalfina combined with French oil company Elf Aquitaine to create TotalFinaElf. The new company reflects this prestigious Franco-Belgian oil and gas heritage, whose origins go back to the 1920s. The dynamic synthesis of the three companies’ corporate cultures and expertise represents a wealth of technological and human capabilities that favorably position Total to help invent the future of energy.
See: http://www.mbendi.co.za/coto.htm

and
Expanding the French Connection
Self ^ | Friday, November 04, 2005 | Paperjam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1515785/posts

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