The lead up to the Iraqi War (2003-2011) is a long and twisted tale with much of it centering on an Iraqi defector by the name of Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi (later code named "Curveball") which is only now coming to light.
It's a convoluted tale featuring a low-level Iraqi chemical engineer from Baghdad, who changed world history with a lie - and later a series of elaborate lies - to serve his own purpose.
The story begins in 1999 when Rafid al-Janabi was briefly arrested in Iraq on suspicion of embezzling government funds. After his release, he decided to leave Iraq; he defected and immigrated to Germany. Seeking political asylum there, he filled out the necessary paperwork and was briefly questioned.
Later, Germany's secret service (the BND) visited him and began a more thorough interrogation.
According to al-Janabi, his main purpose for coming to Germany was to contribute - even in the smallest way - to the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.
When he realized the BND's strong interest in him, he saw an opportunity to improve his chances of gaining permanent residence in Germany since they were, at first, hesitant. Al-Janabi then decided to embellish his reports and "sex up" the story of his own importance within Iraq's defence department.
Early investigations showed that his real reason for defection was that he had embezzled government money and was on the run - which he openly
admitted to.
A deportation order back to Iraq would probably have resulted in his death and when Germany later denied entry to his wife, al-Janabi found himself in a
difficult spot.
The BND's interest in al-Janabi deepened not because he had come to Germany from Iraq seeking refuge due to an embezzlement he had committed in his homeland but because he claimed that he was a trained engineer who had worked inside Saddam's defence
research system in a high-level capacity.
For the BND, this was a golden opportunity and al-Janabi became a person of special interest.
In an effort to glean more information from him, Germany granted both he and his wife asylum and his handlers then gave him the code name, "Curveball."
They were determined to discover what he knew of Saddam Hussein and of the possibility that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
Eager to hear more of what Curveball had to say and pass it on to their superiors and their allies to aid the fight against terrorism, the Germans continued their investigations.
As time went on, the BND's interrogations became more intensive because they needed to establish the defector's credibility and the true extent of his knowledge. With an elevated sense of importance, Curveball's embellishments became greater and one lie led to another and ultimately led to an escalation of lies.
The more the BND investigators looked into Curveball's claims, the more they began having serious doubts about him and the information he provided.
On several occasions it was revealed that he had openly lied. Investigations from solid sources inside Iraq indicated that Curveball was an inveterate liar and not to be trusted, yet there were still many who believed him.
Curveball's tales grew taller as he told them of biological weapons productions and mobile labs used to confuse and evade UN inspectors looking for WMDs subsequent to agreements established after the first Iraqi-Kuwaiti War in 1991.
If Curveball's assertions were true, this would explain why WMDs could not be found and that a real danger to the West existed.
To be continued next week.
