Defence Minister considers resigning as military exposed as creator of war book translation 

Søren Gade, the defence minister, is ready to leave his post after a serious betrayal from the Defence Command.

A visibly shaken Gade faced up to a media scrum following today’s Defence Committee meeting where he informed members of parliament that a high-standing member of the Defence Command  was behind the Arabic translation of Special Forces soldier Thomas Rathsack’s book.

Last week, Gade announced that an Arabic translation of the book, which the military and government have sought to stop from being published, was available on the internet.

It has now emerged that Navy Captain Jesper Britze, who heads Defence Command IT operations, produced the translation, which was then leaked to the media.

Gade said he felt deeply betrayed and that his political destiny was now in the hands of the political majority in Parliament

‘If my political colleagues and opponents no longer trust me, the decision about my departure isn’t difficult to make. I’ve told my daughters I might be coming home on the bus instead of being driven by my chauffeur,’ Gade said

‘I’m not just in shock. It was difficult for me to sleep last night after being told that a trusted, leading employee translated the book to Arabic.’
Britze has been suspended and is subject to an investigation by the Judge Advocate General.

Anonymous sources in the military told Jyllands-Posten that Britze translated the book because he wanted to show how dangerous Rathsack’s book was.

According to the sources, he translated the book to Arabic in his own home by using a translation service available on the internet, put the finished version on the net and showed it to colleagues in the Defence Command.