 The German government, facing allegations its spies in Iraq secretly abetted the US invasion that Berlin publicly opposed, has resisted calls for a parliamentary inquiry it said would fan anti-Americanism. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the foreign minister, said on Friday Baghdad-based agents of the BND intelligence service had stuck to clear instructions not to pass on operational military information to the Americans at the start of the US invasion in 2003. The role of the two agents has become a hot political topic since media reports this month alleged they gathered information for Washington on bombing targets in Baghdad and acted as scouts for an air raid intended to kill then-president Saddam Hussein. |