German spy 'Mr. Hezbollah' urges ongoing pressure on terror networks
The terrorist groups Islamic State and al-Qaeda view the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to attack targets.
By BENJAMIN WEINTHALShi'ite fighters fire a rocket toward Islamic State militants in Baiji, north of Baghdad, 2015(photo credit: THAIER AL-SUDANI/REUTERS)
BERLIN – A top German intelligence official who earned the moniker “Mr. Hezbollah” has urged Chancellor Angela Merkel and the global community to not let up on pressure targeting international and domestic terrorism.The pressure must continue on terrorist structures, Gerhard Conrad, who worked for the Federal Intelligence Service in the Arab world, told Welt am Sonntag last week. “The direct and indirect effects of the pandemic on the stability of the countries concerned worldwide deserve special attention,” he added.His name is probably an alias due to his work as a top spy for the federal republic.Conrad earned the moniker “Mr. Hezbollah” within German intelligence circles because of his talks to secure prisoner swaps with the Lebanon-based Shi’ite terrorist group. He retired from espionage in November but continues training programs for intelligence officials.The terrorist groups Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaida view the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to attack targets. In its al-Naba newsletter in mid-March, ISIS called on its terrorists to carry out attacks.Western countries have not followed Conrad’s advice. France said it would withdraw soldiers stationed in Iraq. The German government is reducing its numbers of soldiers in Iraq.“The virus crisis poses a threat to the stability and security of many countries,” Conrad told Welt am Sonntag.The virus could weaken security structures and lead to strengthened terrorist networks, he said.Merkel has faced intense pressure from the US and Israel to ban the entire terrorist entity Hezbollah in Germany, where 1,050 of its members and supporters operate. She has refused to outlaw the Lebanese Shi’ite entity within the borders of Germany.Former security coordinator for late chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government, Bernd Schmidbauer, told the paper: “I will write to Angela Merkel in the next few days and ask her to step up the activities of the security authorities.”
He called for a change of strategy to conform the foreign security service to the coronavirus crisis.“All information related to the pandemic is now extremely important for Germany,” he said, adding that “the danger from extremists and terrorists who want to exploit such a situation for their own purposes is particularly great.”Schmidbauer cited the dangers of “networks in the Maghreb countries and in the Middle East. In addition, the virus crisis could result in a new wave of refugees to Europe.”Conrad said there should be a focus on “disinformation campaigns” carried out by states in connection with the deadly virus.Germany’s domestic intelligence agency told the paper one of its priorities is to monitor the coronavirus in its designated assignment areas.Conrad was accused of dropping his mediator’s neutrality in 2008 when he sealed a deal gaining the release of the bodies of two IDF reservists, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, for the freedom of five terrorists, including child-murderer Samir Kuntar.The Gilad Schalit prisoner-exchange process also was a controversial process for Conrad. An Israeli source close to the Netanyahu government and the Schalit negotiations said Conrad “seems to be more favorable to Hamas, possibly because of Germany’s economic ties with Iran, known to be Hamas’s financial and ideological backer,” Fox News reported in 2009In 2011, Hamas released Schalit in exchange for Israel releasing 1,027 terrorists and prisoners.
