German Opposition Seems Set to Call for Inquiry Over BND Affair

Germany's largest opposition party, the free-market liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), seems set to vote in favor of an inquiry on Monday, according to one of the party's parliamentary leaders.

Approval "is just a formality," Jürgen Koppelin told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, according to Reuters news service. He added that recent allegations that members of Germany's intelligence service (BND) supplied US officials with Saddam Hussein's defense plans only added to an already existing list of questions about Germany's involvement in the invasion of Iraq and the role it has played in the war on terror.

An inquiry can only happen if at least one quarter of parliamentarians supports it. That means that all three opposition parties -- the FDP, the Greens and the Left Party -- must back the proposal. The latter two have already said that they would vote in favor of an inquiry.

On Monday, the secret parliamentary control committee, which oversees Germany's secret intelligence services, will be hearing testimony from a former intelligence agent in Baghdad about allegations of a German role in getting Hussein's defense plans to the Americans.