Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group
Encyclopedia
The Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group (ISOG) was an interagency organization formed in early 2006 within the U.S. government, consisting of officials from the State Department, White House
, Central Intelligence Agency
, Treasury Department
, and other agencies that worked, to influence regime change in Iran, and to influence its access to world banking and credit institutions. Co-chaired by Elizabeth Cheney
, the daughter of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, and Elliot Abrams, the former staffer for Ronald Reagan
who was convicted of two felonies in the Iran-Contra scandal, the secretive group met weekly for about a year, also working to a lesser extent on Syria
, in order to encourage regime change
. Other members of the group's steering committee were James F. Jeffrey, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, who had headed the Iraq Policy group, and Michael Doran
, a Middle East specialist from the White House
.
Day to day operations were handled by David Denehy, a senior adviser on Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department, and a former official with the International Republican Institute
. The group originally was "housed" in the same Pentagon offices that had housed the Office of Special Plans
, the group that laid the groundwork for the United States invasion of Iraq. Before the group's dissoluton, Denehy moved his office from the State Department to the office of the Vice-President and continued to manage the group's affairs from there. The group operated for little more than a year, with a beginning budget of $7 million dollars that grew to $80 million. The group drew public scrutiny when leaks from the State Department revealed that, rather than have the program administered by career State Department staffers, or contracted via a bid process, the program was outsourced to BearingPoint
, a private corporation specializing in discreet management, whose previous experience included such tasks as overseeing the "emergent" economic development in former USSR countries, and the more recent privatization of gold mines in Khazakstan. ISOG's first BearingPoint staffers had also been hired to man the controversial Iraq Policy and Operations Group. Critics of the outsourcing maneuver cited it as an effort to circumvent the normal diplomatic channels and federal transparency guidelines and laws.
The group had 5 "pillars:"
The group arranged the sale of military equipment to Iran and Syria's neighbors, and otherwise used discretionary and secret funding of undisclosed amounts to "promote democracy" in the Middle East. The ISOG has given aid to the militaries of Saudi Arabia
, the United Arab Emirates
, and Bahrain
, and also to the political opposition in Iran. The group was disbanded after little more than a year, when its mission had become controversial and at cross-purposes with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
's initiatives for working with Iran and Syria to stabilize Iraq. At this time, ABC News reported, President Bush granted "secret" presidential approval to the CIA to conduct "black" operations to destabilized the Iranian government in a "non-lethal presidential finding" that authorized propaganda, disinformation, and manipulation of Iran's currency and international banking transactions.
On May 29, 2007, Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns
reported to the Senate Foreigh Relations Committee in a letter that "The ISOG was established in March 2006 and disbanded in March 2007 in favor of a more standard process". The dissolution of the group was interpreted at the time in media reports as indication that "hardliners" on Iran in the Bush government had lost their influence, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice steered the country away from militaristic policy planning and towards diplomacy. As late as April 11, 2009, Iranian officials investigating "cyber-crimes" (Revolution Guards Corps) cited Cheney's efforts in the daily newspaper Iran, specifically the "Democracy Program" (sic)initiative as parallel to a Netherlands-funded push for a "velvet revolution" accomplished by a media campaign to polarize the country, "despite the 1981 Algiers Accords signed between the U.S. and Iran in the aftermath of the U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran."
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
, and other agencies that worked, to influence regime change in Iran, and to influence its access to world banking and credit institutions. Co-chaired by Elizabeth Cheney
Elizabeth Cheney
Elizabeth Cheney Perry , commonly called Liz, is an American attorney. During the George W. Bush administration years, she held positions in the State Department of the United States...
, the daughter of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, and Elliot Abrams, the former staffer for Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
who was convicted of two felonies in the Iran-Contra scandal, the secretive group met weekly for about a year, also working to a lesser extent on Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, in order to encourage regime change
Regime change
"Regime change" is the replacement of one regime with another. Use of the term dates to at least 1925.Regime change can occur through conquest by a foreign power, revolution, coup d'état or reconstruction following the failure of a state...
. Other members of the group's steering committee were James F. Jeffrey, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, who had headed the Iraq Policy group, and Michael Doran
Michael Doran
.Michael Doran , Minnesota politician and businessman, was born in County Meath, Ireland. He emigrated to New York in 1850, then moved to Norwalk, Ohio the following year. In 1855, he married Helen Brady of Norwalk. He took out a land claim in Kilkenny, Minnesota in 1856, and established a farm...
, a Middle East specialist from the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
Day to day operations were handled by David Denehy, a senior adviser on Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department, and a former official with the International Republican Institute
International Republican Institute
Founded in 1983, the International Republican Institute is an organization, funded by the United States government, that conducts international political programs, sometimes labeled 'democratization programs'....
. The group originally was "housed" in the same Pentagon offices that had housed the Office of Special Plans
Office of Special Plans
The Office of Special Plans , which existed from September 2002 to June 2003, was a Pentagon unit created by Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, and headed by Feith, as charged by then-United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to supply senior George W. Bush administration officials with...
, the group that laid the groundwork for the United States invasion of Iraq. Before the group's dissoluton, Denehy moved his office from the State Department to the office of the Vice-President and continued to manage the group's affairs from there. The group operated for little more than a year, with a beginning budget of $7 million dollars that grew to $80 million. The group drew public scrutiny when leaks from the State Department revealed that, rather than have the program administered by career State Department staffers, or contracted via a bid process, the program was outsourced to BearingPoint
BearingPoint
BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consulting firm. Following a post-bankruptcy management buyout in August 2009, BearingPoint has been operated by its European management team and is organized as a partnership...
, a private corporation specializing in discreet management, whose previous experience included such tasks as overseeing the "emergent" economic development in former USSR countries, and the more recent privatization of gold mines in Khazakstan. ISOG's first BearingPoint staffers had also been hired to man the controversial Iraq Policy and Operations Group. Critics of the outsourcing maneuver cited it as an effort to circumvent the normal diplomatic channels and federal transparency guidelines and laws.
The group had 5 "pillars:"
- a military group that explored military aid to Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates and sought to influence the flow of weaponry into Iran.
- "democracy outreach" group that provided secret financial assistance to groups inside Syria and Iran in an attempt to promote regime change.
- an economic "development" group that sought to control Iran's access to credit, and to international banking services
- a "special relationships" group that scrutinized the interactions of Iran with Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan, and independent terrorist organizations.
- a media outreach group that targeted the people of Iran, Syria, and the Persian Gulf region.
The group arranged the sale of military equipment to Iran and Syria's neighbors, and otherwise used discretionary and secret funding of undisclosed amounts to "promote democracy" in the Middle East. The ISOG has given aid to the militaries of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, and Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, and also to the political opposition in Iran. The group was disbanded after little more than a year, when its mission had become controversial and at cross-purposes with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
's initiatives for working with Iran and Syria to stabilize Iraq. At this time, ABC News reported, President Bush granted "secret" presidential approval to the CIA to conduct "black" operations to destabilized the Iranian government in a "non-lethal presidential finding" that authorized propaganda, disinformation, and manipulation of Iran's currency and international banking transactions.
On May 29, 2007, Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns
R. Nicholas Burns
R. Nicholas Burns is a retired American diplomat. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a member of the Board of Directors of the school's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs...
reported to the Senate Foreigh Relations Committee in a letter that "The ISOG was established in March 2006 and disbanded in March 2007 in favor of a more standard process". The dissolution of the group was interpreted at the time in media reports as indication that "hardliners" on Iran in the Bush government had lost their influence, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice steered the country away from militaristic policy planning and towards diplomacy. As late as April 11, 2009, Iranian officials investigating "cyber-crimes" (Revolution Guards Corps) cited Cheney's efforts in the daily newspaper Iran, specifically the "Democracy Program" (sic)initiative as parallel to a Netherlands-funded push for a "velvet revolution" accomplished by a media campaign to polarize the country, "despite the 1981 Algiers Accords signed between the U.S. and Iran in the aftermath of the U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran."