General Security Directorate
Encyclopedia
The General Security Directorate (GSD) (مديرية الامن العامة, Mudiriyat al-Amn al-Amma) was the intelligence agency
of Iraq
. It was announced by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi
at a press conference in July 2004 in a climate of widespread violence by terrorist
groups and the Iraqi insurgency
. Although details on its organisation were not made clear at the time, the General Security Directorate's designated mission was to "infiltrate and annihilate Iraq's tenacious insurgency".
's military and security services, including the Mukhabarat
. As the security situation within Iraq deteriorated and Iraqi resistance to the occupation became stronger and more violent, the need for a secret service became more pressing. In December 2003, the Washington Post reported, Iyad Allawi and Nouri Badran, two members of the Interim Governing Council and Iraqi National Accord
officials, flew to the US to discuss details of setting up a new secret service with the help of the CIA. The agency was to be headed by Badran and recruit many agents of Saddam's Mukhabarat. The main objective of the new organisation was to counter the insurgency.
In January 2004, the New York Times reported that the creation of the new agency was under way. It was to employ between 500 and 2,000 staff and be financed by the U.S. government. Ibrahim al-Janabi was said to be the main candidate for leading the spy agency. These efforts drew criticism from Ahmed Chalabi
, another formerly exiled Iraqi politician who had good connections with the CIA, who voiced worries that the new agency might be used for the restoration of the old Ba'athist security apparatus and follow the well-established pattern of government repression.
In March 2004, Paul Bremer announced the creation of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service
, headed by Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed al-Shahwani and replaced the GSD. The INIS is funded from secret funds set aside within the Iraq appropriation approved by the US Congress. These secret funds, totalling $3 billion over three years, are said to be destined for covert CIA operations within Iraq (as well as, to a small extent, Afghanistan
).
al-Shahwani was in the Iraqi military from 1955 until 1984, fled to the UK in 1990 and lost his three sons in the 1996 failed coup organised by INA and the CIA.
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. It was announced by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi
Iyad Allawi
Ayad Allawi is an Iraqi politician, and was the interim Prime Minister of Iraq prior to Iraq's 2005 legislative elections. A prominent Iraqi political activist who lived in exile for almost 30 years, the politically secular Shia Muslim became a member of the Iraq Interim Governing Council, which...
at a press conference in July 2004 in a climate of widespread violence by terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
groups and the Iraqi insurgency
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...
. Although details on its organisation were not made clear at the time, the General Security Directorate's designated mission was to "infiltrate and annihilate Iraq's tenacious insurgency".
Background
After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Paul Bremer disbanded Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's military and security services, including the Mukhabarat
Iraqi Intelligence Service
The Iraqi Intelligence Service , also known as the Mukhabarat, General Directorate of Intelligence, or Party Intelligence, was the main state intelligence organization in Iraq under Saddam Hussein...
. As the security situation within Iraq deteriorated and Iraqi resistance to the occupation became stronger and more violent, the need for a secret service became more pressing. In December 2003, the Washington Post reported, Iyad Allawi and Nouri Badran, two members of the Interim Governing Council and Iraqi National Accord
Iraqi National Accord
The Iraqi National Accord known inside Iraq as Wifaq is an Iraqi political party founded by Iyad Allawi and Salah Omar Al-Ali in 1991. Al-Ali subsequently left the party after he realised the extent of Allawi's links to foreign intelligence agencies, mainly the C.I.A. and MI6.It was founded at the...
officials, flew to the US to discuss details of setting up a new secret service with the help of the CIA. The agency was to be headed by Badran and recruit many agents of Saddam's Mukhabarat. The main objective of the new organisation was to counter the insurgency.
In January 2004, the New York Times reported that the creation of the new agency was under way. It was to employ between 500 and 2,000 staff and be financed by the U.S. government. Ibrahim al-Janabi was said to be the main candidate for leading the spy agency. These efforts drew criticism from Ahmed Chalabi
Ahmed Chalabi
Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi is an Iraqi politician. He was interim oil minister in Iraq in April-May 2005 and December-January 2006 and deputy prime minister from May 2005 until May 2006. Chalabi failed to win a seat in parliament in the December 2005 elections, and when the new Iraqi cabinet was...
, another formerly exiled Iraqi politician who had good connections with the CIA, who voiced worries that the new agency might be used for the restoration of the old Ba'athist security apparatus and follow the well-established pattern of government repression.
In March 2004, Paul Bremer announced the creation of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service
Iraqi National Intelligence Service
The Iraqi National Intelligence Service is an intelligence agency of the Iraqi government that was created in April 2004 on the authority of the Coalition Provisional Authority.-Background:...
, headed by Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed al-Shahwani and replaced the GSD. The INIS is funded from secret funds set aside within the Iraq appropriation approved by the US Congress. These secret funds, totalling $3 billion over three years, are said to be destined for covert CIA operations within Iraq (as well as, to a small extent, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
).
al-Shahwani was in the Iraqi military from 1955 until 1984, fled to the UK in 1990 and lost his three sons in the 1996 failed coup organised by INA and the CIA.
External links
- Globalsecurity profile of Mudiriyat al-Amn al-Amma
- Allawi sets up spy agency (The Age, July 2004)
- Back to the past in Iraq (Jane's Intelligence Digest, July 2004)