Former intelligence chief might reveal 20 years of state secrets

On July 8th Nicolò Pollari, former chief of the Italian Military and Security Service (SISMI), shocked the political scene in Italy by declaring that he might disclose the real stories behind some of the most sensitive political scandals that have hit Italy since the 1980s. He referred in particular to the 2003 kidnapping of Abu Omar, an Islamist cleric who was abducted by secret service agents in Italy and transferred to Egypt for interrogation, the behind-the-scenes dealings to liberate Italian hostages in Iraq and Afghanistan, the failed liberation of two Israeli soldiers in the hands of Hezbollah in 2006, the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon in which Italian forces form the largest contingent, as well as the killings of civilians in Lebanon. Pollari did not choose to speak for himself but authorized Sergio de Gregorio, head of the Defense Committee of the Senate, to publish the statement on his behalf.

The former intelligence chief writes that he would be willing to reveal all these stories to the public if he could speak in front of an enquiry commission which has the power to free him of the duty to keep state secrets.  Pollari also stresses that if the truth is made public, it would become clear that SISMI was serving the country without breaking any laws and that the accusations which are currently advanced against the intelligence service are unjustified.

The move was unexpected but it adds to the turbulences that have shaken Italian politics in the last couple of days. Last week it emerged that Pio Pompa who worked closely with Pollari during the latter’s term as  chief of SISMI conducted various intelligence operations that some consider illegal. Pompa secretly collected information on judges and ministers. Since Pollari was his superior a lot of the criticisms of Pompa’s activities have also been directed at him. Furthermore, as Pollari was appointed by the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the center-left coalition has tried to turn the affair into a political issue. Piero Fassino, national secretary of the biggest center-left party (DS) has said that Mr Berlusconi bears political responsibility for what happened. But there is no evidence that Mr Berlusconi was either directly or indirectly involved in Pompa’s activities and he has declared that he had no knowledge of the operations.

Nonetheless, some government officials, after having gone through lots of bad news in the preceding weeks, scented the opportunity to put the opposition on the defensive. Clemente Mastella, justice minister, has called for a special enquiry but his demand is not even fully supported within the center-left coalition. His suggestion seems of dubious value because a parliamentary committee to scrutinize the activities of the secret services (COPACO) exists already and it could lead the investigation if SISMI has carried out any illegal operations.

While the center-left wanted to capitalize on the issue, Pollari’s announcement on Sunday has frustrated this effort as it may cause difficulties for the left as well. Speaking on behalf of Pollari, de Gregorio made clear that some of the operations for which SISMI was criticized such as the use of “extraordinary renditions” of terrorist suspects, were common among left-wing governments long before September 11^th. He also added that the attacks on SISMI by politicians are generally unjustified since “secret services do what governments tell them to do, no matter if right-wing or left-wing. Period.”