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Directorate of General Security

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For the later Iraqi domestic intelligence agency, see General Security Directorate (Iraq).

Directorate of General Security
al-Amn al-‘Amm
Former DGS logo
Agency overview
Formed1921, under the Ministry of the Interior
Dissolved2003
JurisdictionGovernment of Iraq
HeadquartersBaghdad, Iraq
Agency executive
  • Rafi abd al-Latif Tilfah al-Tikriti (1997–2003), Last Director
Parent agencyIndependent

The Directorate of General Security (DGS) (Arabic: مديرية الأمن العام, romanized: Mudiria al-Amn al-‘Amm, lit. 'Public Security Directorate') also known as Internal State Security was a domestic Iraqi intelligence agency.[1]

History

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The DGS was founded in 1921 during the Iraqi monarchy, and it operated under the Ministry of the Interior until 1968.[2] Its police and military officers were charged with the "general security of the state and its property", which included the use of torture and monitoring of dissent.[3]

Kzar coup

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Nadhim Kzar was named director by Saddam Hussein in 1969 after the DGS had deteriorated under 10 years (1958–1968) of army rule.[4] Kzar was known for his sadism, and during his term the DGS tortured and killed thousands. Much of this violence was directed against the Iraqi Communist Party and Iraqi Kurds; Kzar twice attempted to assassinate Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani.[4]

Kzar was a Shia Muslim and angered by the Sunni hold on power in Iraq. He led an ultimately unsuccessful coup in 1973 against President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, including taking hostage both Minister of the Interior Sa'adiun Gheidan and Army Chief of Staff and Minister of Defense General Hamid Shehab. Bakr was to be assassinated when his plane landed in Baghdad, but a flight delay caused Kzar to abort the assassination and flee with his hostages. As Kzar's convoy attempted to escape to Iran, it was attacked by Iraqi helicopter gunships, leading to Kzar's capture, General Shehab's death, and Gheidan's bodily injury. Kzar was judged for his actions and found guilty on July 7 by the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council under Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri, then executed that same month.[5]

Reorganization

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As a result of the attempted 1973 coup, Saddam Hussein sought a secret agreement with KGB head Yuri Andropov late that same year, leading to a close relationship that included intelligence exchange, Iraqi training in KGB and GRU schools, thorough DGS reorganization under KGB guidance, provision of surveillance and interrogation equipment, and Iraqi embassy support of Soviet agents in countries without Soviet relations.[6]

A 1974 Political Report of the Arab Socialist Baath Party' acknowledged the failings of the government in controlling the DGS:

"The State security service, though reinforced throughout by Party members and independent patriots, was an immense machine which, under previous regimes, had used blackmail against the party and other national movements, and thus had evolved a peculiar psychology. To reform it, to make it adopt new values and practices was therefore very difficult. It has indeed made serious mistakes during the period under review [1968–1973], to the detriment of the Party's reputation and policy in various fields. The leadership was at fault in allowing this sensitive organisation to operate without rigorous and careful control. Some officers of this service abused the confidence placed in them by the Party, to the extent of conspiring against the Party, as in the plot of 30 June 1973. This criminal enterprise alerted the Party to the dangers of inadequate control, and extensive changes were made."[7]

Saddam Hussein era

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The DGS was reestablished as an independent entity reporting directly to President Hussein in the late 1970s[2] or 1989.[1] In 1980, Hussein decided to expand Ba'athist ideology within the ranks by appointing as DGS Director his first cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid. Majid led the DGS throughout the Iran–Iraq War

During the 1991 uprisings in Iraq, the DGS was targeted by insurgents, including a battle at its Sulaymaniyah headquarters. Tons of documents were seized by Kurdish guerrillas and civilians, and while much was shipped to the United States, some were kept by Kurdish parties and individuals.[1] The uprising led Saddam Hussein to create the Emergency Forces (Qawat al-Tawaria), a new paramilitary branch of the agency. The DGS also began to solicit greater information on foreigners in Iraq, with reports coming in from taxi drivers like those around the Al-Rashid Hotel and from Ministry of Culture and Information guides and translators, who were a journalist's only option when visiting Iraq.[8]

In 2002, Jane's Intelligence Review reported that the DGS employed 10,000 personnel, mainly Ba'ath Party members.[9]

In April 2002, a defector who had been a lieutenant colonel in the DGS stated that 40% of the rank and file DGS personnel were not showing up for work, instead preparing forged papers to exchange for dollars and euros.[10]

The last director of DGS before the American-led invasion, Rafi Abd al-Latif Tilfah al-Tikriti, was the jack of hearts in the U.S. military's most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. According to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, he was a leader in the insurgency against Coalition forces.[11] As of 2018, he remained wanted by the Iraqi government and is still at large.[12]

The DGS was officially dissolved on May 23, 2003, per Order Number 2 of the Coalition Provisional Authority under L. Paul Bremer.[13]

Known directors

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Hiltermann, Joost. Bureaucracy of Repression: The Iraqi Government in Its Own Words. Human Rights Watch, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f al-Marashi, Ibrahim (September 2002). "Iraq's Security and Intelligence Network: A Guide and Analysis". Middle East Review of International Affairs. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  3. ^ Hiro, Dilip. Neighbors, Not Friends: Iraq and Iran After the Gulf Wars. Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-25411-6 p. 54–55
  4. ^ a b c al-Khalil, Samir. Republic of Fear: The Inside Story of Saddam's Iraq. New York, Pantheon Books: 1989 ISBN 0-679-73502-X p. 6
  5. ^ Arbish, Said K. Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-58234-050-1 p. 103–105
  6. ^ al-Khalil, 12–13.
  7. ^ Kanan Makiya. Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq, Updated Edition, (1998), p. 7.
  8. ^ Hiro, Dilip. Iraq: In the Eye of the Story. Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002. ISBN 1-56025-477-7 p. 62
  9. ^ Gause, Ken. "Can the Iraqi security apparatus save Saddam?", Jane's Intelligence Review, November 1, 2002.
  10. ^ Borger, Julian. "Iraq rearming for war, say defectors: Gun running Baghdad buying up east European weapons: Baghdad buying up weapons, say defectors", The Guardian, April 29, 2002.
  11. ^ Jehl, Douglas; Schmitt, Eric (June 13, 2004). "Errors Are Seen in Early Attacks on Iraqi Leaders". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  12. ^ "فيديو | هكذا ردت رغد صدام حسين على حكومة بغداد". وكالة وطن للأنباء. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2: Dissolution of Entities" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  14. ^ Cordesman, Anthony H. Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. ISBN 0-275-96528-7 p. 155
  15. ^ a b "Saddam appoints new intelligence, security heads", Al-Sharq al-Awsat, October 20, 1999. Translated by BBC Worldwide Monitoring.
  16. ^ Smith, David (December 31, 2006). "Hunting the pack". The Guardian. London. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
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