Iraq leak (Finland)

The Iraq leak (also Iraq-gate, or the Iraq scandal) is a series of events that began on 6 March 2003 from a statement given by Anneli Jäätteenmäki, leader of the Finnish Centre Party, in a televised election debate prior to the 2003 parliamentary election. Jäätteenmäki accused Paavo Lipponen, the then Prime Minister of Finland, of attaching Finland to George W. Bush's 'coalition of the willing' that was in preparation for the 2003 war in Iraq. Lipponen had visited Washington on 9 December 2002.

According to Jäätteenmäki, Finland had taken part in a meeting where 'those countries that had promised cooperation and aid' had been invited. It was later discovered that Jäätteenmäki had acquired the information from secret foreign ministry documents, which she had received from Martti Manninen, an advisor to the President of Finland and a member of Jäätteenmäki's party.

Prime Minister Lipponen's actions were suggested to be influenced by the fact that Finland was about to sell AMOS mortars to the U.S. military as part of its Land Warrior program.

The Left Alliance member of parliament Jaakko Laakso, together with other representatives, had posted a public question on Lipponen's statements in Washington already on 19 December 2002. There was no public inquiry on the matter, even though the documents cast doubt on the legality of mortar deals during the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Green member Ulla Anttila and others questioned an authorisation to export arms that was granted to Patria-Hägglunds shortly before the war started.

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Wikipedia