“The Saddam Dossier”

SPIEGEL cover story: The USA is determined to attack the Iraqi dictator – it is worried he could soon threaten the world with nuclear bombs. Does Saddam Hussein really own weapons of mass destruction? Or is George W. Bush pursuing entirely different plans with his campaign? And what is the tyrant of the Tigris planning? Is Saddam an eternal misanthropist, a psychopath with a manic addiction to weapons of mass destruction? Or is the son of Iraqi peasants simply an overrated, demonic, Third World dictator, whose sphere of influence needs to be contained, but who does not merit the risk of a conflagration in the Middle East with incalculable consequences for the world economy? The tyrant of the Tigris has already achieved one thing: he has divided the Western world. Unlike with “Desert Storm”, a broad alliance for a war against Baghdad is not in sight. Members of the American government claim that a world without this Iraqi dictator would be a safer place – and who would care to contradict them. But the world would also be a more pleasant place without the brutal Burmese military rulers and without that terrible butcher Charles Taylor in Liberia. So can the USA prove that Baghdad poses a threat for the West that would justify a huge military operation? Does the Bush administration want to replace Saddam Hussein by an Iraqi opposition politician from abroad, and is it willing to occupy Iraq for perhaps 30 years, and to “democratise” it? Is George W. Bush primarily concerned with fighting terrorism, with Iraqi oil – or perhaps even “revenge” in the style of his father?

“Then There’ll Be No Holding It Back”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Iraqi foreign minister Nadshi Sabri Hadithi about America’s plans for Iraq, the return of the arms inspectors and Germany’s “vehement no”:

“If the USA is allowed to invade Iraq, there’ll be no holding it back. … The Germans know that the Arab world is closer to them than America. … All the Arab states have rejected America’s threats against Iraq, demanding that the brutal regime of sanctions be lifted and rejecting any form of interference in Iraq’s internal affairs. … Resolutions exist that precisely regulate the deployment of the arms inspectors – for instance the resolutions call for the sanctions to be lifted, for the sovereignty and independence of Iraq to be restored. These terms have been systematically violated by the United States and Great Britain for 12 years. … Do we actually need an opposition? Iraq is a totally different country, you cannot simply transfer the system in Europe to Iraq. The people in our country are satisfied with their government, and they have defended it.”

“The Neighbours Want the Change”

SPIEGEL interview with Iraqi opposition leader Ahmed Chalabi about America’s impending war against Baghdad and the willingness of Saddam’s soldiers to change sides:

“We regard this military campaign – whatever its outcome may be – not as a war between the United States and Iraq, but as a national war of liberation which began many years ago. … We can play an important part in setting up an administrative organisation and controlling the areas liberated from Saddam. … This time, Saddam won’t shy away from using biological and chemical weapons. … Of course the neighbours want a change of the regime in Baghdad.”

“Crushing Circumstantial Evidence”

The case of a terrorists’ friend demonstrates the problems faced by German investigators in their hunt against Al Qaida. Basha Musleh, who was born in Jordan, provides a perfect example of the dilemma faced by German investigators as they hunt for the string-pullers and helpers of Al Qaida in Germany. Even though criminal investigators are realising more and more clearly that he was extremely close to the terrorists, they cannot pin any crime on him. The law enforcement officers have found out so much in the meantime that they could easily wallpaper their rooms with the layouts of the network. But so far their evidence is only sufficient to file charges against the alleged terrorist helper Mounir al-Motassadeq.

“The Stock Exchange Has Become a Casino”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Michael Frenzel, head of TUI, about the consequences of September 11 for the tourism industry and the problems with his company’s share price, the difficult reorganisation of an old industrial corporation into a tour operator, and about his daring strategy of cheap air travel:

“September 11 was a shock which had an immediate effect on people’s travel behaviour, because it made them totally uncertain. But that went by quickly and was then eclipsed in Germany by the economic factors: the introduction of the euro and also the uncertainty about economic development. … September 11 did not change consumer behaviour fundamentally … Since September we have at times even done better than the Dax, but then various things occurred again with were beyond our control. Over the past months, the markets have largely disengaged themselves from positive news. They react to bad news, if at all. The true function of capital markets, namely to provide capital for growth, is being called into question. The stock exchange has become a casino. … It sounds paradox, but the danger of a take-over has actually become smaller even though shares have become so cheap. … This development (Editor’s note: new suppliers pressing onto the market with low prices) is not going to pass by Germany, the largest tourist leisure and flights market. It’s coming, with or without us. Of course we want to be in on it, it’s a highly attractive market.”

“The Hawala Hydra”

Money laundering: In spite of tighter checks, the billion-dollar business of transferring money remains a paradise for frauds. Terrorists are not the only ones to profit by the powerlessness of the authorities. Officially registered money transfer companies such as the market leader Western Union, or the number two Moneygram, do in fact regularly report suspicious cases to the authorities in charge. However aside from this, enormous sums of money flow through the hidden channels of the Hawala system, totally unchecked – leaving no data records, no receipts nor any other trace.

“Keeping the Horses Happy”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with four-time Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum about his chances of winning the show jumping world championships in Jerez, his preference for difficult horses, the secret of his success, and the poor presentation of equestrian sports on German television:

“The goal of training a horse correctly and thoroughly is one of the trump cards of the German riding tradition. Only that the rider has to find the happy medium between obedience and trust. … I won’t be able to ride a horse successfully at sporting events for six or seven years if I subject it to pain during training or force it by other means to perform outstandingly. The price of rapid success is simply too high. … It is of elementary importance for my animals that they don’t see a jump or a bar for two months in winter; they are only exercised and can relax out at grass. … In spite of the boom during the past few years, riding is unfortunately still not as popular a sport as soccer. In addition, riding still suffers from the image of being a sport for the more affluent. We simply must change that.”

“Ceremonial Labyrinth”

Museums: The largest new museum to have been built in Germany in recent years is to be inaugurated in Munich: the “Pinacotheca of the Modern Age”. Behind the scenes there has been plenty of strife. Nowhere else in Germany is such a high concentration of 20th century art to be found. Few other museum buildings have given rise to so many legal quarrels and cries of scandal reaching all the way into the Bavarian local parliament. Even today it is still not clear who carries the greatest blame for what – but it has always been the architect who was promptly and prophylactically reprimanded. Just a few weeks ago, Bavaria’s supreme audit office admitted that the biggest mistakes and errors in calculation were in fact made by the state authorities.

“Blood and Bullets”

Soccer: Murder threats against coaches and functionaries, anti-Semitism in the stadiums – the atmosphere in Dutch professional soccer has been poisoned since the murder of the right-wing populist Pim Fortuyn. The sequence of events usually follows the same pattern: the letters are decorated with blood stains and bullets, the victims of the psychological terror are coaches or functionaries. The security forces are taking the perpetrators seriously – a task force has recently been set up in Rotterdam. Even Queen Beatrix has received a threatening letter. The message was very clear: now everyone has to reckon on dying just as Fortuyn died. Pim Fortuyn was never interested in soccer. Nevertheless, fans in the “De Kuip” stadium revere him as a martyr. The racist Feyenoord fans have come up with a battle cry, jumping up and down in time to it as they chant. It goes: “Anyone who doesn’t jump is a Jew”.