VZCZCXYZ0010
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRL #1160/01 1181456
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 281456Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2824
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

S E C R E T BERLIN 001160 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOJ FOR OIA/BRUCE SWARTZ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2016 
TAGS: KJUS PTER PREL PGOV GM
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER: AG GONZALES MEETING WITH INTERIOR 
MINISTER SCHAEUBLE 
 
REF: BERLIN 987 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires John A. Cloud, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and 
 (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Interior Minister Schaeuble, a loyal ally in 
the war on terror, looks forward to discussing ongoing as 
well as additional cooperation with the U.S.  Our work to 
date, as with his predecessor, in fighting terrorists and 
international criminal groups, while excellent, is sometimes 
limited or hampered by our differing legal systems.  Key 
cases in this regard: Germany sought your intervention in the 
Moussaoui case and German officials are embarrassed that 
Mohammed Atta's accomplice Motassadeq is out on bail in 
Hamburg while awaiting his appeal.  Given Schaeuble's 
counterterrorism convictions, he may be able to break a 
logjam and find new ways to work more closely with the U.S., 
for example, in fingerprint sharing.  Like Justice Minister 
Zypries in her May 17 meeting with you, he may raise 
sensitive cases.  As you are aware, Chancellor Merkel is 
meeting with the President May 3 and may/may raise concerns 
about specific cases as well.  End Summary. 
 
Schaeuble on Counterterrorism 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Schaeuble (like Chancellor Merkel, a Christian 
Democrat) remains out in front of Justice Minister Zypries 
(and her Social Democrats) in urging more aggressive German 
counterterrorism actions. 
 
- After the Constitutional Court ruled that the German 
military may not shoot down hijacked airliners, Schaeuble 
called for a new law to make it possible, which Zypries 
opposes. 
 
- Schaeuble called for preventive detention to prevent 
terrorist attacks, a concept which Zypries opposes. 
 
- He successfully lobbied for a limited role for the German 
military to help support security requirements for the Soccer 
World Cup; she opposed a military role. 
 
- Schaeuble supported interrogations to prevent terrorism; 
Zypries spoke out against torture and "treatment that 
violates the dignity of a person" and regretted that German 
officials had questioned an individual in Guantanamo Bay. 
 
Schaeuble has directed his ministry to build upon former 
Minister Schily's proposal for a third post-9/11 package of 
law changes to further strengthen Germany's counterterrorism 
regime.  Ministry staff tell us it may include key elements 
the U.S. has sought, including expanded powers for German law 
enforcement and better and more integrated databases. 
Schaeuble has also sought immigration reforms to promote 
integration and make easier the deportation of extremists. 
 
¶3. (C) Schaeuble needs to deal with political sniping from 
opposition parties regarding the previous SPD/Green 
government of Gerhard Schroeder and allegations of U.S. 
rendition activities as well as press articles on 
intelligence cooperation in the run-up to the war with Iraq. 
 
Eager for USG Interaction 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Schaeuble, a devoted and long-standing 
trans-Atlanticist, sought meetings with U.S. counterparts 
upon assuming office to demonstrate strong counterterrorism 
cooperation and was disappointed you had to cancel your 
January visit.  Schaeuble travels with difficulty because he 
is confined to a wheelchair after an assassination attempt in 
October 1990, nine days after reunification, by a mentally 
unstable person.  Nonetheless he had told his staff that if 
other priorities prevent your and Secretary Chertoff's travel 
to Berlin, he will go to Washington. 
 
U.S. Priorities 
--------------- 
 
¶5. (C) The Legal Attache presented the Interior Ministry 
months ago with a proposal to share as many as four 
categories of fingerprint data: criminals convicted, 
individuals under investigation, individuals suspected of 
having committed a crime, and those on the German list of 
individuals posing a threat (Gefaehrderliste).  Aside from 
its merits outright, this proposal forms a part of Homeland 
Security Presidential Directive Six (HSPD-6).  Schaeuble may 
 
be concerned about precedents and German and EU privacy law. 
You should tell him we are prepared to be flexible and remind 
him that as he has said publicly himself the fight against 
terrorism requires us to share information about common 
threats.  This applies to fingerprints as well as more 
general data sharing, which we have also sought to expand. 
Germany needs to find a way to make increased fingerprint 
sharing possible. 
 
Schaeuble Bilateral Priorities 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) Schaeuble's staff say the topics he may raise include 
the Moussaoui sentencing (and possible aftermath/backlash), 
which you discussed with Justice Minister Zypries, and the 
case of 9/11 co-conspirator Mounir el-Motassadeq.  The German 
Constitutional Court ordered Motassadeq released February 7 
pending the appeal of his August 2005 conviction and sentence 
to seven years' imprisonment for membership in a terrorist 
organization.  The Constitutional Court's ruling did not 
address the merits of Motassadeq's appeal, a ruling on which 
is expected in summer 2006.  A central issue in the 
Motassadeq case was the unavailability of witnesses, 
including Khaled Sheik Mohammed, who the defense stated might 
have potentially exculpatory information and whom the court 
assumed were in U.S. custody.  Schaeuble may also raise 
fingerprint sharing. 
 
Sensitive Cases 
--------------- 
 
¶7. (S) The German Bundestag established April 7, after months 
of media and political speculation, an investigatory 
committee to look into German intelligence service activities 
in Iraq, alleged rendition flights, and the alleged detention 
of German citizens.  These issues remain sensitive throughout 
the German political spectrum.  Schaeuble himself stated 
publicly late March that the U.S. would "soon" release German 
resident / Turkish national Murat Kurnaz from Guantanamo.  He 
might also raise German citizen Khaled el Masri and Germany's 
pending request for legal assistance.  El Masri filed a civil 
suit in the United States.  Germany also sought information 
in 2005 about the alleged rendition, reported in the German 
press, of Egyptian citizen Abu Omar from Italy via the U.S. 
Air Base at Ramstein in Germany. 
 
 
Other Schaeuble Priorities / World Cup 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Schaeuble's Ministry, responsible for security as well 
as sport, is in final preparation for the 9 June - 9 July 
Soccer World Cup: 12 venues, 32 teams, 64 matches, 3 million 
fans.  Germany is cooperating with numerous countries, 
including the U.S., to provide security: U.S. agencies 
including the FBI will provide liaison officers and the 
Terrorist Screening Center has negotiated a way for Germany 
to use a subset (non-U.S. citizens) of the terrorist 
screening database to screen those issued credentials. 
 
¶9. (U) Schaeuble is currently (April 28) embroiled in a 
controversy over remarks he made following the recent beating 
of a German-Ethiopian by apparent right-wing extremists. 
Schaeuble was accused of being insensitive to the plight of 
the victim, who is still in a coma, when he said that 
"blue-eyed, blond-haired people" were also the victims of 
attacks.  Schaeuble has since apologized for the tone of his 
remarks. 
CLOUD