WikiLeaks: Swedish government 'hid' anti-terror operations with America from Parliament - Polidicks

[img_thumb]http://www.arenaflowers.com/files/Image/arenaflowers.com/news/telegraph_co_uk.jpeg[/img_thumb] [url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8202745/WikiLeaks-Swedish-government-hid-anti-terror-operations-with-America-from-Parliament.html]Source[/url] [release]The Swedish government asked American officials to keep intelligence-gathering “informal” to help avoid Parliamentary scrutiny, American diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks show. The secret cables, seen by The Daily Telegraph, disclose how Swedish officials wanted discussions about anti-terrorism operations kept from public scrutiny. They describe how officials from the Swedish Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a “strong degree of satisfaction with current informal information sharing arrangements” with the American government. Making the arrangement formal would result in the need for it to be disclosed to Parliament, they said. They disclose officials’ fear that intense Swedish Parliamentary scrutiny could place “a wide range of law enforcement and anti-terrorism” operations in jeopardy. Under the heading “teams visits to discuss terrorist screening information exchange with Sweden”, they show Dr Anna-Karin Svensson, Director of the Division for Police Issues, saying the Swedish government would strike controversy if its intelligence methods were disclosed. The cable claimed that the "current Swedish political climate makes any formal terrorist screening information agreement highly difficult". Swedish citizens are said to place high value on the country’s neutrality. "The MOJ team expressed their appreciation for the flexibility of the U.S. side in regards to memorialising any agreement," said the cable. "They expressed a strong degree of satisfaction with current informal information sharing arrangements with the U.S., and wondered whether the putative advantages of an HSPD-6 agreement for Sweden would be offset by the risk that these existing informal channels, which cover a wide range of law enforcement and anti-terrorism co-operation, would be scrutinised more intensely by Parliament and perhaps jeopardised. "Dr. Svensson reiterated MFA concerns about the current political atmosphere in Sweden." It continued: "She believed that, given Swedish constitutional requirements to present matters of national concern to Parliament and in light of the ongoing controversy over Sweden's recently passed surveillance law, it would be politically impossible for the Minister of Justice to avoid presenting any formal data sharing agreement with the United States to Parliament for review. "In her opinion, the effect of this public spotlight could also place other existing informal information sharing arrangements at jeopardy." The publication of the new cables, sent to Washington from the American embassy in Stockholm in 2008, came after Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, was granted bail on Tuesday over sexual assault claims in Sweden. Despite a judge ordering his release with strict conditions and £200,000 guarantee from high profile supporters, the Swedish authorities appealed, meaning the 39 year-old remains behind bars. Wikileaks claimed the new cables, which discuss terrorist screening programs, added weight to suggestions that Sweden and America were engaged in “back room deals”. Mark Stephens, Mr Assange’s lawyer, has claimed his client was facing a “show trial” and his case was politically motivated. The Swedish government denies the claims. Kristinn Hrafnsson, a Wikileaks spokesman, said that the website was “concerned about political influence on the prosecution of Julian Assange”. “The new revelations contained in the Swedish cables … shed some light on the ferocity of the Swedish prosecutorial process in this case,” he said. “The prosecutor has said there is ‘no condition’ for bail that will satisfy them.” [/release]

Ehm, just on behalf of my people: Those officials are only Swedish by name.

The Swedish were too weak to take the USA's blackmail and caved in recently I think, and quite quickly, I guess they are working as the US now.

:sweden:

:sweden: Right now we got suicide bombers, we are americas bitch and we made it impossible for asssange to get out on bail. Not to mention it's cold as a polar bears asshole here right now.

:sweden: However I'm not surprised.

Don't blame America, blame your own country for their support. I mean you can point the finger all you want but your government IS participating.

[QUOTE=BANNED USER;26715382]Don't blame America, blame your own country for their support. I mean you can point the finger all you want but your government IS participating.[/QUOTE] Don't blame the murderer you stood in the way of the bullet.

So, to be clear, Swedish intelligence side stepped their parliament because they can't keep their grubby fingers out of low level intelligence agreements, and this make people angry?

USA is the cancer that's killing the world

[QUOTE=Brage Nyman;26715794]Don't blame the murderer you stood in the way of the bullet.[/QUOTE] In what way has the United States done ANYTHING wrong here?

[QUOTE=Brage Nyman;26715200]:sweden: Right now we got suicide bombers, we are americas bitch and we made it impossible for asssange to get out on bail. Not to mention it's cold as a polar bears asshole here right now.[/QUOTE] They're actually surprisingly warm, you know... [editline]16th December 2010[/editline] I should go...

[QUOTE=Cuntsman;26715922]USA is the cancer that's killing the world[/QUOTE] You're cancer too.

[QUOTE=GunFox;26715926]In what way has the United States done ANYTHING wrong here?[/QUOTE] Pressuring another government into prosecution of someone whom they have no proof of any wrongdoing of.

[QUOTE=mobrockers;26716073]Pressuring another government into prosecution of someone whom they have no proof of any wrongdoing of.[/QUOTE] There is no evidence of that here. The only thing here is that portions of the Swedish government wanted to get intelligence information from the United States without having to have the entire agreement paraded through their parliament.

[QUOTE=Brage Nyman;26715794]Don't blame the murderer you stood in the way of the bullet.[/QUOTE] Yeah, caving into influence is the exact same thing as being shot and is totally not your fault at all

No we stand neutral in this!

[QUOTE=GunFox;26716132]There is no evidence of that here. The only thing here is that portions of the Swedish government wanted to get intelligence information from the United States without having to have the entire agreement paraded through their parliament.[/QUOTE] I thought they were talking about Anti-Terrorism Ops, not just sharing information, must have read wrong.

[QUOTE=Fata;26715940]You're cancer too.[/QUOTE] Calm down, Cletus. Don't you have some roadkill to eat, or a cousin to fuck?

We need a new government, preferbly one that's not licking America's ass until the tongue is sore.

[QUOTE=Ond kaja;26716483]We need a new government, preferbly one that's not licking America's ass until the tongue is sore.[/QUOTE] it would be better if america just fucked off

In the future we'll be certain to tell the Swedes to fuck off any time they ask for anything. Of course then there would be a document claiming the US refused to share intelligence information with Sweden and everyone would be bitching about that.

[QUOTE=JDK721;26716758]it would be better if america just fucked off[/QUOTE] *and died

[QUOTE=GunFox;26716132] The only thing here is that portions of the Swedish government wanted to get intelligence information from the United States without having to have the entire agreement paraded through their parliament.[/QUOTE] The parliament is comprised of elected representatives of the people. If you defy them, you DEFY THE PEOPLE. That is not a democracy. Just stop posting Gunfox, you're literally worse than Glaber because you actually try to make these asinine opinions sound intelligent, Glaber just shits them out in a runny paste

and this is why we need wikileaks. I wonder if some one will really say that this information should not have been leaked.

[QUOTE=imasillypiggy;26720008]and this is why we need wikileaks. I wonder if some one will really say that this information should not have been leaked.[/QUOTE] You'd have to be batshit crazy to think wikileaks in general is an evil concept. It's great in theory. I dislike their execution and their attitude of "fuck it, leak everything" isn't responsible in my opinion, but overall they're the good guys.

No shit, the current govt is so far up the US ass you can see the shitstains (Beatrice Ask being a prime example of such a shitstain).

[QUOTE=Zeke129;26719751]The parliament is comprised of elected representatives of the people. If you defy them, you DEFY THE PEOPLE. That is not a democracy. Just stop posting Gunfox, you're literally worse than Glaber because you actually try to make these asinine opinions sound intelligent, Glaber just shits them out in a runny paste[/QUOTE] Yeah except if they had to take it to parliament, they wouldn't get the information which would aid in their defense. It wasn't some grand conspiracy. They needed the information and it was provided. They simply avoided a formal agreement. And telling someone to "stop posting" isn't a good idea.

[QUOTE=GunFox;26727784]Yeah except if they had to take it to parliament, they wouldn't get the information which would aid in their defense. It wasn't some grand conspiracy. They needed the information and it was provided. They simply avoided a formal agreement. And telling someone to "stop posting" isn't a good idea.[/QUOTE] I don't think you are aware how a parliament works. For a government to do something it needs the approval from the parliament. Skipping that part is not only illegal, it's damaging the trust of the parliament and the people.

[QUOTE=GunFox;26727784]Yeah except if they had to take it to parliament, they wouldn't get the information which would aid in their defense. It wasn't some grand conspiracy. They needed the information and it was provided. They simply avoided a formal agreement. And telling someone to "stop posting" isn't a good idea.[/QUOTE] This may be how things work in your country, but people would rage if this happened here.