War Thread Sticky

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I still say Saddam's alive and off in one of this tunnels puling up bangbus.com on a daily basis. He's sitting there in front of his 21 inch monitor all, "Hey, Asad! Asad!! Asad, stop watchin' the news. You've got to come over here and check this out. Those crazy Americans driving the van convinced another unsuspecting girl to get into their van and let them make the sex and then shoot the cum on the face! Ach!! We must get a van and try this ourselves, Asad!"

 

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Saddam's Martyrs ["Men of Sacrifice"]
Fedayeen Saddam

The paramilitary Fedayeen Saddam (Saddam's `Men of Sacrifice') was founded by Saddam's son Uday in 1995. In September 1996 Uday was removed from command of the Fedayeen. Uday's removal may have stemmed from an incident in March 1996 when Uday transfered sophisticated weapons from Republican Guards to the Saddam Fedayeen without Saddam's knowledge. Control passed to Qusay, further consolidating his responsibility for the Iraqi security apparatus. The deputy commander is Staff Lieutenant General Mezahem Saab Al Hassan Al-Tikriti. According to reports, control of Saddam Hussein’s personal militia was later passed back to his eldest son, Uday.

The Fedayeen, with a total strength reportedly between 18,000 and 40,000 troops, is composed of young soldiers recruited from regions loyal to Saddam. The unit reports directly to the Presidential Palace, rather than through the army command, and is responsible for patrol and anti-smuggling duties. Though at times improperly termed an "elite" unit, the Fedayeen is a politically reliable force that can be counted on to support Saddam against domestic opponents. It started out as a rag-tag force of some 10,000-15,000 "bullies and country bumpkins." They are supposed to help protect the president and Uday, and carry out much of the police's dirty work.

The Fidayi Saddam include a special unit known as the death squadron, whose masked members perform certain executions, including in victims' homes. The Fidayi operate completely outside the law, above and outside political and legal structures.

It is difficult to establish the exact date when the beheading of women campaign began in Iraq. Witness accounts report the public beheading of women from June 2000 through to May 2001. Saddam’s Fidayi conduct the beheading operations, which take place in two stages. Accompanied by the leaders of the Ba’th party, the Fidayi make a night raid on the district. The latter is gone through with a fine toothcomb to eliminate any hints of revolt and in order to discover any weapons. The population is summoned for the next day at prayer time. They arrive at the stated hour at the home of the victim, who is dragged out in the clothes she is wearing. She is then stretched out on an iron bench, her head hanging down, in front of her children, her family and the whole population of the district. The executioner and his assistants are dressed in brown bearing the logo ‘Saddam’s Fidayi’ and usually do not come from the district or the region. The Feddayi detailed to carry out the beheading takes his sword held out by an assistant and cut’s the victim’s head off. According to the scenes described, the head is exhibited or the body and the head are thrown into black boxes and taken away. Women belonging to families suspected of being hostile to the regime or whose members are in prison as “opponents” (the term of course covers a considerable number of definitions) are particularly targeted.

By late 2001 security was tight in major Iraqi cities. Night curfews had been imposed in the provincial centers of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Basra, Nasiriya, Babel and Najaf. Patrols consisting mainly of members of Fedayeen Saddam were being redeployed in major intersections and strategic sites in these cities.

By August 2002 Iraqi authorities were maintaining a night curfew in several parts of of Baghdad as fears mounted of an imminent U.S. military attack. The curfew was imposed mainly after midnight until 5 a.m. It is being carried out by members of the dreaded Saddam Commandos, a force led by President Saddam Hussein's elder son, Udai, and Special Security Forces commanded by his younger son, Qusai. Patrols from these two forces, the backbone of Saddam's loyal troops, controlled main interjections in Baghdad and block entrances to major streets and sensitive areas. As the night falls in Baghdad, the patrols start searching vehicles and individuals, and prevent movement of cars and people shortly after midnight.

References
"Inside Iraq's security network - Parts One and Two" Sean Boyne JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW Volume 9, numbers 7 & 8, July and August 1997
IRAQ Middle East Security Report Vol 1 No 9 - 5 March 1997

 

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Special Republican Guard (SRG)
[Special Forces Brigade of the Presidential Palace]

The praetorian Special Republican Guard (SRG) is responsible for protecting the president and providing a military response to any attempt at a rebellion or coup. The SRG is the only significant military unit allowed in central Baghdad, apart from the intelligence services’ military branches. This elite para-military unit was founded in early 1992 [some accounts say March 1995] by Saddam Hussein. Although sometimes confused with the elite military forces of the Republican Guard, it is an entirely separate entity with quite different functions and capabilities.

Key regime protection assets, such as the Special Security Organization and the Special Republican Guard, largely recruit from Saddam's al-Bu Nasir tribe and other nearby tribes that have good relations with the al-Bu Nasir. The SRG is filled with recruits drawn from Tikrit, Baiji, al-Sharqat and small towns south and west of Mosul and around Baghdad -- areas and clans noted for their loyalty Saddam's person and regime.

The Special Republican Guard, also known as the "Golden Division," is paid higher salaries and accorded priority in getting food and prescription drugs. The Special Republican Guard bridged the capabilities gap between the regular Army and the security apparatus. The primary mission of the Special Republican Guard was to work with the Special Security to protect Saddam, and the two units together became known as the Organization of Special Security (OSS).

The Special Republican Guard is responsible for, among other things, the security of the capital, Baghdad, as well as Saddam's family palaces and other vital facilities of the regime. It was at the center of disputes between Saddam and the UN weapons inspectors, UNSCOM, notably when Saddam refused access to Special Republican Guard facilities where illegal weapons of mass destruction were hidden. The most important player in this role was a sector of Iraq's Special Republican Guard known as the National Monitoring Directorate.

The Government of Iraq crossed a new threshold of noncompliance with its cease-fire obligations in early June 1996 when it repeatedly blocked attempts by U.N. weapons inspectors to enter certain Iraqi government facilities. The investigators from the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) were attempting to enter Special Republican Guard sites where they believe Iraq may be hiding information on its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. in the late summer of 1996 UNSCOM, guided by its electronic intelligence, targeted a cluster of Hussein's Special Republican Guard facilities believed to be hiding weapons related materials.

In June 1997, UNSCOM inspectors tried to inspect the 4th battalion headquarters of the Special Republican Guard at the complex in Jabal Mokhul. UNSCOM reported that it had information that Iraq’s Special Republican Guard, 2nd Battalion had shuttled BW agents between a military training center and al-Bakr University. Trucks shuttled weapons contraband from storage sites, which were changed every 90 days in the early years and every 30 days after 1997, to a network of temporary hide sites when UN inspectors approached. Physical security for the hiding places fell to the 2nd and 4th Brigades of the Special Republican Guard, while other units performed related functions.

Initially, the unit consisted of some 15,000 young troops, composing thirteen battalions of 1,300-1,500 men each. Subsequently this force grew to upwards of 26,000 troops in thirteen battalions. Units are deployed to guard Saddam's palaces, to escort Saddam on his travels, and others as `emergency response' forces. As of 1998 the SRG was estimated to include about 15,000 troops. As of 2002 the SRG was estimated to include about 12,000 troops, reportedly with armor, air defence and artillery units. These were variously reported to consist of as many as 14 battalions, apparently organized into four Special Republican Guard brigades of up to 2,500 troops each.

This new unit, responsible to Qusai Saddam Hussein, was reportedly under the immediate command of Major Safa' Mustapha Magtoof, one of Qusai's personal guards, who was previously the manager of a Special Security office in Nidhal Street in Baghdad. Staff Major General Namiq Mohammad was also reported as the immediate commander of this unit.

In August 1997 Saddam Hussein reportedly appointed Major General Kamal Mustafa Al Tikriti [Major Jamal Mustapha Abdullah Al-Tikriti], in place of his second son, Qusay, as commander of the Special Republican Guard. However, as of June 1998 General Kamal Mustafa was reportedly the Director of the SRG Information Desk. General Kamal Mustafa is the most prominent professional officer amongst Saddam's immediate family. Jamal Mustafa, his brother, is married to Saddam's youngest daughter, Hala. General Mustafa is married to the sister of Hussein Kamel, Saddam's son-in-law who was murdered on the dictator's orders when he returned to Iraq in 1996.

Among the targets in the December 1998 Operation Desert Fox were the security forces most loyal to Saddam Hussein. Unconfirmed reports after the bombing indicated that 600 Special Republican Guard members and up to another 800 regular Republican Guard troops were killed.

Other Units
Field Artillery Command
The Field Artillery Command is headquartered at Ridhwaniyeh at the Makasib intersection where many veterans of the 1991 uprising are still detained. These prisoners are shunted back and forth to elude UN inspections. The Command consists of two batteries located at the entrance of Al-Rasheed military hospital.

Mortars Command
Mortars Command is headquartered at Abu-Ghraib near the former site of the first inspection point.

Communications Command
The Communications Command is located in the Zawra’ Gardens near the Zawra’ Tower. It consists of several platoons and uses several models of wireless instruments as well as civilian and military phone lines

Chemical Platoon
The Chemical Platoon is an independent platoon located near the First Regiment (Anti-Aircraft), on the airport runway near the former ceremonial reception hall.

Transport Platoon
The Transport Platoon had, as of June 1998, recently been established. Its primary mission is to take care of all the vehicles of the central command. It is also responsible for furnishing the top officers with vehicles for personal use. It is located at the former site of the Revolutionary Court at the Abu-Ghraib camp.

Supplies and Transport Command
The Supplies and Transport Command had, as of June 1998, recently been established. Its primary mission is to take care of all the vehicles of the central command. It is also responsible for furnishing the top officers with vehicles for personal use. It is located at the former site of the Revolutionary Court at the Abu-Ghraib camp.

Repair and Towing Workshop
The Repair and Towing Workshop is tasked with repairing vehicles belonging to the Special Republican Guard. It is located at the site of the old Revolutionary Court at the Abu-Ghraib camp.

Military Police Platoon
The Military Police Platoon is located at the command headquarters and at the inspection points on the periphery of Baghdad city and at the main transportation depots at Al-‘Alawi and at Al-Nahdha.

Accounting Directorate
The Accounting Directorate is headquartered at Hayy ‘Amil, behind the Central Markets at the head of the Airport Highway near the Umm Al-Tubool Mosque. The building formerly belonged to the Finance Ministry and it also houses a special communications room called “One-One”, which is the central communications desk between the Special Intelligence, Amin Al-Khass, and the Special Republican Guard. This desk covers the road from the Palace to the airport and links the patrols and officers stationed along that road.

The unit consists of several departments:

Accounting department;
Verification department; and
Expenditure department.
Ammunitions
The ammunitions silo lies at Hayy Al-Furat near the seventh battalion and near the “ASKWA” residential complex that houses the members and officers of the Special Republican Guard (between the seventh and second battalions).

Quality Control
Quality Control is headquartered at Abu-Ghraib near the Supplies and Transport Command. Its back-up Regiment is headquartered at Abu-Ghraib while its Self-propelled Artillery Regiment is headquartered at Ridhwaniyeh.

Independent Platoons
Tank Platoon stationed at Ridhwaniyeh.
Intelligence Platoon stationed at the Republican Palace. It consists of the Abu Nawwas Squad, of a patrol squad, traffic squad, and police squad. The patrol squad is distributed at the Republican Palace, Hayy ‘Amil and ‘Amiriyah. The inspection squad's duties is to supervise surveillance cameras and equipment at Hayy ‘Amil and the ministries of Defense and Oil, as well the “special” road.
Broadcasting Station Defense Platoon is headquartered at As-Salihiyeh. It is numerically equivalent to a battalion.
The Elite Mobile Platoon is headquartered at the Republican Palace.
The “Special Squad” which is numerically equal to a platoon.

References
"Inside Iraq's security network - Parts One and Two" Sean Boyne JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW Volume 9, numbers 7 & 8, July and August 1997

 

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Special Security Service - SSS

The Special Security Service, is also known as the Presidential Affairs Department or the Special Security Organisation. It is is the least known but most feared Ba'thist organ of repression. During the mid-1980s, the Republican Guard expanded from a small presidential guard force into a large military organisation. Consequently, the Amn al Khas (Special Security Service) was formed to act as a leadership guard unit. The SSS was established at the end of the Iran-Iraq War under the leadership of Hussein Kamil, Saddam's son-in-law and Minister for Military Industrialisation.

Iraq established an extensive arms and technology procurement network in the 1980s to acquire technology, hardware and personnel for Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological weapons and missile programms. The effort was directed by Hussein Kamil, who used Amn al Khas to coordinate the implementation of a covert network of front companies to acquire equipment, technologies, supplies and material.

Kamil defected to Jordan in August 1995, and was assasinated on 23 February 1996 when he subsequently re-defected to Iraq. In January 1997, Qusai Saddam Hussein appointed Major Nawfal Mahjoom Al-Tikriti to head the Special Security Office.

Currently the organization's primary task is to protect the Baath leadership in Iraq. Their ranks are filled with the most loyal troops serving in the Iraqi armed forces, whose dedication to Baathism and to Saddam Hussein personally had been tested on numerous occasions. These troops face considerable danger because the frequent assassination attempts on the president and on his close associates usually meant loss of life among bodyguards. Survivors are generously rewarded, however. Among its various responsibilities the Special Security Service is charged with surveillance of those holding sensitive positions in Intelligence, Military Intelligence, the Military Engineering Drawing Bureau, and the distribution branches of the military security agencies.

References
Saddam's Spies Gulf States Newsletter No. 523 - 06 November 1995
"Inside Iraq's security network - Parts One and Two" Sean Boyne JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW Volume 9, numbers 7 & 8, July and August 1997

 

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Iraqi Intelligence Service - IIS [Mukhabarat]

The Iraqi Intelligence Service - IIS [Mukhabarat] is also known as the Department of General Intelligence or the General Directorate of Intelligence (Al-Mukhabarat Al-A'ma). It is the most notorious and possibly the most important arm of the state security system. It is the main state intelligence body and is primarily concerned with political and security problems. It consists of two major departments covering internal and external activities respectively. It is the equivalent of the CIA and the FBI rolled into one (or MI5 and MI6).

At the top of the pyramid, the Mukhabarat is responsible for watching the other police networks and controlling the activities of state institutions, the army, government departments and "non-governmental" organisations (youth, women, labour, etc.). A special security section of the Mukhabarat commands the party's paramilitary groups. Officially, the Mukhabarat is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In practice, it does come under the ministry's jurisdiction but acts instead on the direct orders of the RCC. Mukhabarat agents operate in State structures, in the various organisations and associations, in the diplomatic corps and abroad.

Saddam Hussein participated in an unsuccessful attempt by the Baath Party to assassinate Iraq's ruler Abd al Karim Qasim in October 1959. Between 1964 and 1966 Saddam was put in charge of the Jihaz al Khas (Special Apparatus), codenamed Jihaz al-Haneen (Instrument of Yearning) which concentrated on intelligence and security work. After the Baath Party took power on 17 July 1968, Saddam' expanded the Jihaz al-Khas, and extended his span of control to the Amn (security) state internal security department. In 1973 the Jihaz was transformed into the Da'irat al Mukhabarat al Amah (General Intelligence Department or GID) after the failed coup attempt by Director of Internal Security Nazim Kazzar.

In 1982 the Department of General Intelligence underwent a personnel shake-up. At that time, it was headed by Saadun Shakir, who was an RCC member and, like Saddam Husayn, a Tikriti, and who was assisted by Saddam Husayn's younger half-brother, Barazan Husayn. Foreign observers believed that the president was dissatisfied because the agency had not anticipated the assassination attempt at Ad Dujayl. It was also believed that several separate intelligence networks were incorporated within the department, and that Iraqi intelligence agents operated both at home and abroad in their mission to seek out and eliminate opponents of the Baghdad regime.

With the Mukhabarat, in 1983, Barzan Al Tikriti organised the massacres of the villagers of Al Dujail and Jezan Al Chol, the disappearance of the Barzanis from the Qushtapa camp and the assassination of 90 members of Ayatollah Al Hakim's family. Barzan Al Tikriti and the Mukhabarat are believed to be responsible for the assassinations of opponents abroad (including Ayatollah Mehdi Al Hakim in Sudan in January 1988 and Dr Ayad Habashi in Rome on 16 October 1986), links with terrorist organisations, money laundering and arms purchases. Some secret service chiefs, including Nazim Kzar and Fadhil Barak, have also been murdered by the Mukhabarat on Saddam Hussein's orders

In recent years, and as a direct result of the Gulf War, the external department was reduced to less than half of its pre-1990 size, while the internal department was enlarged to deal with increasing anti-regime activities in Iraq.

In 1993, the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) directed and pursued an attempt to assassinate, through the use of a powerful car bomb, former U.S. President George Bush and the Emir of Kuwait. Kuwaiti authorities thwarted the terrorist plot and arrested 16 suspects, led by two Iraqi nationals.

In June 1995 Iraqi President Saddam Hussein dismissed his stepbrother Saba'wi Ibrahim al-Hasan who was head of the intelligence agency, based on his faliure maintain domestic security of Iraq. Barzan Al Tikriti, Saddam's ruthless half-brother, was then appointed permanent representative of Iraq to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Brigadier Majid Hasan al-Majid, an experienced Iraqi intelligence official, replaced Ibrahim al-Hasan.

In January 1998, after a meeting with Turkish officials in Ankara, representatives of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan met with Iraqi officials in Baghdad. The Chief of the Iraqi intelligence service Rafa Daham El-Tikriti met with the PUK leader Celal Talabani. The Baghdad authorities were said to be seeking to set up an alliance in accordance with the 1991 framework of autonomy, between the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the KDP. The Chief of the Iraqi Intelligence service Rafa Daham El-Tikriti met with members of the PUK politburo and Celal Talabani in the city of Suleymaniye.

One killing believed to be politically motivated included that of Intelligence Chief Rafa Daham Mujawwal Al-Tikriti, Saddam Hussein's second cousin and the former Iraqi ambassador to Turkey. Rafa died 11 October 1999, three days after he was removed from his post. Government explanations for his death included both that he had died in a car crash and that he had suffered a heart attack. Some opposition sources said Rafa was killed for failing to protect information about Iraq's military deals with Russia, although others asserted that Rafa's reputed rivalry with Uday Hussein was a factor that led to his death.

When the death of Iraqi security chief Rafa Daham Tikriti was announced in October 1999 by Baghdad, doubts immediately arose over the official explanation that his death was an accident. For one thing, there were Baghdad's conflicting accounts of how he died. First the state media reported he had died in a car crash. Then the cause of death changed to a heart attack. The discrepancy raised speculation Baghdad was seeking to cover up a third explanation for his demise -- execution. Since Rafa Takriti's death, the signs he was assassinated have steadily grown. His death follows his dismissal by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein -- his second cousin -- only a week earlier. The dismissal followed reports Saddam had ordered an investigation into who in the intelligence service was responsible for leaking details of an alleged secret Iraqi arms deal with Moscow. Rafa Takriti was killed as a matter of standard practice after being removed from office. Rafa Takriti may in part have fallen victim to power struggles in Baghdad over who will succeed Saddam Hussein. According to some analysts, Rafa Takriti fell in a power struggle between one of his patrons, Barzan Takriti, and Saddam's older son Uday. Rafa Takriti had previously served as an aide to Barzan. And he had remained loyal to Barzan -- who is Saddam's half-brother -- as Barzan has pushed a claim to succeed Saddam against Uday and Saddam's younger son Qusay. Rafa Takriti may have fallen victim to Uday as a way for Saddam's oldest son to strike out at Barzan.

References
Saddam's Spies Gulf States Newsletter No. 523 - 06 November 1995

 

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Military Intelligence
Al-Istikhbarat al-Askariyya

Although initially subordinated to the Ministry of Defense, in the early 1980s it was re-subordinated to report directly to the Presidential Palace. Estimates of the size Istikhabarat staff range from 4,000 to 6,000.

Administration Branch
This Branch is responsible for all administrative affairs for Military Intelligence.

Political Branch
The Political Branch is responsible for the collection of from defence attaches in Iraqi diplomatic missions. Intelligence is also collected through other agents, such as the extensive networks of informants in Iran, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt. Informants are equiped with sophisticated clandestine communications systems. During the Iran-Iraq War agent reports from Iran on the results of Iraqi air raid supplemented aerial imagery from the Iraqi Air Force.

Special Branch
The Special Branch is primarily responsible for investigations and clandestine operations.

Security unit
Although the Istikhabarat security unit responsible for countering dissent throughout the military was established as a separate agency [the Military Security Service, or Al Amn Al-Askariyya] in 1992, Istikhabarat retains a security unit to monitor its own personnel.

Unit 999
This "deep penetration" unit, responsible for domestic and international clandestine operations, is headquartered at the army base at Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad. Unit 999 activities have included infiltratration of opposition militias in the Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq, a planned effort by the unit to kidnap the US commander General Schwarzkopf from Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm, and sabotage attacks on Iranian oil installations in the 1990s.

Initially Unit 999 had five battalions of 300 men apiece, and more recently another battalion was formed to counter Iraqi opposition groups.

1st "Persian" Battalion [Iran]
2nd "Saudi Arabia" Battalion
3rd "Palestine" Battalion [Israel]
4th "Turkish" Battalion;
5th "Marine" Battalion [sea-borne operations, mine warfare, etc]
"Opposition" battalion
In 1994, following the founding of the Iraqi National Congress [INC] opposition group, the Istikhabarat was assigned the role in monitoring and countering the opposition to the Saddam regime. The "Opposition" includes comprises sections dealing with Kurds in the north and Shias in the marshes of the south.

Military Brigade
The Military Brigade includes a rapid intervention battalion to respond to security threats in the Baghdad region

References
"Inside Iraq's security network - Parts One and Two" Sean Boyne JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW Volume 9, numbers 7 & 8, July and August 1997
State Terror and the Degradation of Politics in Iraq by Isam al-Khafaji (Chapter 2 in IRAQ Since the Gulf War - Prospects for Democracy, ed. by Fran Hazelton, and publ. in 1994 by Zed Press, London)

 

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Military Security Service [Al Amn al-Askariyya]


The Military Security Service (MSS, or Amn Al-Askariyya) is responsible for detecting and countering with dissent in the armed forces. Initially constituted as part of the Special Bureau of the Estikhabarat, in 1992 it was established as an independent entity reporting directly to the Presidential Palace. Commanded by Staff Major General Thabet Khalil al Tikriti, the MSS is headquartered in the Aladhamia district of Baghdad near the Military Intelligence Service headquarters. The 5,000 staff of the Askariyya monitor every formation and echelon in the armed forces, and investigate corruption and embezzlement within the armed services. Units within the MSS also include the military brigade of the MSS and the Security Unit which monitors the MSS itself.

References
"Inside Iraq's security network - Parts One and Two" Sean Boyne JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW Volume 9, numbers 7 & 8, July and August 1997



General Security Service [Mudiriyat al-Amn al-Amma]


The Mudiriyat al-Amn al-Amma (General Security Service) Secret Police was an element of the Ministry of the Interior civilian police force until the late 1970s, when it was established as an independent agency reporting directly to the Presidential Palace. And in the late 1980s a number of detectives were transferred to Amn from the anti-crime section of the civilian police. The total Amn personnel is currently estimaged at about 8,000.

Headed by a member of the Tikriti clan, this is the main internal security body of the state and the oldest in the country. It usually works in close co-operation with the police force. It makes wide-ranging investigations and protects security interests, watching political, criminal, economic and media activities.

The Amn internal security mission includes wide authority to concerning political and economic activities defined as "crimes", including smuggling and manifestations of disloyalty or opposition to Saddam's regime. The agency operates an extensive network of informers, under the auspices of the 1970 Law no. 83 "The Law of Securing the Trustworthy [al-Mu'taman] in Defending the Revolution." The agency's responsibilities have diminished with time, as other organizations have assumed many of its former responsibiltiies. But with its pervasive local presence Amn remains an important local element of the Iraq intelligence appartus.

The Amn was initially headquartered in the Bataween district of Baghdad. In 1990 Amn moved to a new headquarters in the Al Baladiat area of the city, with the Bataween building becoming the agency's main prison. The Secret Police also has a number of additional facilities and officee buildings. Amn maintains a presence in every town and village, with personnel stationed in civilian police stations across Iraq -- normally the "ordinary" police are on the ground floor and the Secret Police on the second floor.

The Security branch is responsible for monitoring and countering dissent within Amn, and the Military Brigade provides rapid intervention para-military capabilties [the Brigade commander was executed in August 1996 for alleged involvement in coup attempt].

Amn is currently headed by Staff Major General Taha al Ahbabi, who previously headed the Military Security Service and served as the head of the secret service section of the Mukhabarat. As with many other senior Iraqi leaders, he is a native of Saddam's home town of Tikrit.

References
"Inside Iraq's security network - Parts One and Two" Sean Boyne JANE'S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW Volume 9, numbers 7 & 8, July and August 1997
State Terror and the Degradation of Politics in Iraq by Isam al-Khafaji (Chapter 2 in IRAQ Since the Gulf War - Prospects for Democracy, ed. by Fran Hazelton, and publ. in 1994 by Zed Press, London)

 

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When a Gun Is More Than a Gun

Wired News
March 20, 2003
By Noah Shachtman

PICATINNY ARSENAL, New Jersey -- It is among the most horrific weapons in any army's collection: the thermobaric bomb, a fearsome explosive that sets fire to the air above its target, then sucks the oxygen out of anyone unfortunate enough to have lived through the initial blast.

Last year, the U.S. military used such weapons for the first time in combat, to incinerate suspected underground al-Qaeda hideouts in Afghanistan. In the next few months, the U.S. Army will start putting this sweeping power in the hands of individual soldiers.

"This significantly increases the firepower that can be put in a single person's hands," said Reuben Brigety, an arms researcher at Human Rights Watch. "I'm not aware of any other conventional munitions used by a single person that can have the same destructive power."

Thermobaric grenades and mini-rockets were among dozens of current and future munitions the military demonstrated this week at Picatinny Arsenal, the Army's lone research-and-development center for armaments and ammunition.

According to Picatinny officials, thermobaric ammunition will be tested this spring with the Bunker Defeat rocket launcher -- a shoulder-mounted, disposable system that was first deployed in Afghanistan. It'll also be tried out with the M203, the grenade launcher American grunts have used for decades.

But the Army's ultimate goal is to put these mini-bombs into the XM29, its next-generation rifle. The 33-inch-long weapon is designed to fire two types of rounds: standard bullets and programmable, grenade-like ammunition that explode in the air.

Each of these high-explosive air-bursting rounds comes imbedded with a computer chip, explained Lt. Col. Rob Carpenter, who oversees the XM29 program at Picatinny. These chips allow the soldier to program exactly when and where the ammunition should go off. If there are enemy forces behind a wall 150 feet away, the round can explode at 151 feet, over their heads.

"With the M16 (rifle, the American infantry's longtime standard), it took a considerable amount of ammunition to take out a squad of people," said Patrick Garrett, an analyst with Globalsecurity.org. "With this air-bursting ammunition, the XM29 will be able to put those people on the ground in one shot."

The XM29 -- which won't make it into soldiers' hands until 2006 -- gets even deadlier when thermobaric ammunition is added.

Thermobarics inject a fine, flammable mist into the air, Brigety said. Once ignited, the mist creates a mammoth fireball and pressure wave that's nearly impossible to avoid. The mist can travel around corners and into hidden crannies. And it burns relatively slowly, so jumping out of the way on the bomb's initial impact isn't much of a survival tactic.

Once the fire dies down, the mist sucks all of the oxygen out of the confined space. Those who manage to escape the thermobaric flames and pressure waves quickly expire from asphyxiation.

The fuel that's shot out of a thermobaric weapon is underoxidized, according to Judah Goldwasser, a program officer at the Office of Naval Research. When it mixes with the ambient oxygen in a room, it begins to ignite. It's not hard to imagine why the military used 2,000-pound thermobaric bombs in Afghanistan: They are almost tailor-made for destroying cave-based encampments.

Nor is it difficult to see why soldiers faced with rooting out loyalists to Saddam Hussein in Baghdad would covet a small version of such a weapon. City combat is dangerously unpredictable because any corner could hide an enemy. Soldiers often clear every room of every building they sweep. Thermobaric ammunition can eliminate enemies in several rooms at once.

"For urban warfare (thermobarics) could be very effective," said Andrew Koch, Washington bureau chief of Jane's Defence Weekly. "If you lob a grenade in the entrance of a building, it hits just the people in the entrance. A thermobaric weapon would (go) though the rest of the building."

Koch added, "You might not need to have Marines fighting room to room to room if you have one of these."

 

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