The
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i Directorate of General Military Intelligence (DGMI) () was the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
intelligence service of
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
from 1932 to 2003.
Its responsibilities included:
* Tactical and strategic reconnaissance of regimes hostile to Iraq;
* Providing intelligence sharing with other military intelligence services allied to Iraq;
* Assessing threats of a military nature to Iraq;
* Monitoring the Iraqi military and ensuring the loyalty of the officer corps;
* Maintaining a network of informants in Iraq and abroad, including foreign personnel, and military
human intelligence
Human intelligence is the Intellect, intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex Cognition, cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. Using their intelligence, humans are able to learning, learn, Concept ...
;
* Protection of military and military-industrial facilities.
The DGMI is divided into a Special, Political and Administrative Bureau.
[Copley, p.714, via Al-Marashi, 2003]
It employed
embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...
personnel, especially the
and his office within the embassy. It had duties inside the army, but it is unknown what these duties were. In 1979 a document called the Strategic Work Plan by Khalil al-Azzawi, who was head of operations for the DGMI was leaked. The plan set goals of the overseas branches of the agency, e.g. the military attaché's office in London was told to provide reports of nuclear, chemical and bacteriological installations. Also photos of naval bases and their specifications were required.
In a separate section
Ba'ath
Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which advocates the establishment of a unified Arab state through the rule of a Ba'athist vanguard party operating under a revolutionary socialist framework. The ideology is ...
agents were expected to uncover the structure of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
forces such as its land, air and sea bases around the world, especially in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
.
Several opposition leaders were found dead in
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Their involvement in the assassinations of
Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
leaders in 1980 is also likely.
Directors
*
Abdul Jawad Dhanuun (1980 – 1983)
* Mahmoud Shaker Shaheen (1983 – 1986)
*
Saber Abdel Aziz al-Douri (1986 – 1990)
*
Wafiq al-Samarrai (1990 – 1991)
*
Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib (2002 – 2003)
See also
*
Law enforcement in Iraq
The Iraqi police system was re-established following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Up to 2003
The Jihaz Al-Mukhabarat Al-A'ma (Mukhabarat) was a secret police organization during the administration of Saddam Hussein.
Since 2003 Ira ...
*
Directorate of General Security
The Directorate of General Security (DGS) () also known as Internal State Security was a domestic Iraqi Intelligence Service, Iraqi intelligence agency.Hiltermann, Joost. ''Bureaucracy of Repression: The Iraqi Government in Its Own Words''. Hum ...
- Former internal Iraqi security agency
*
Iraqi Intelligence Service
:
The Iraqi Intelligence Service () also known as the Mukhabarat, General Intelligence Directorate, or Party Intelligence, was an 8,000-man agency and the main state intelligence organization in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The IIS was primarily co ...
- Former external Iraqi security agency
*
Iraqi Special Security Organization
The Iraqi Special Security Organization (SSO; , Al-Amn al-Khas) was the most powerful Iraqi security agency under President Saddam Hussein and was responsible for personal security of high-ranking government officials and presidential facilities. ...
- Former security agency responsible for security of VIP's
*
Iraqi National Intelligence Service
The Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS; ) is a civilian intelligence agency whose constitutional duties is to collect intelligence, assess threats to national security, and advise the Iraqi government. The INIS is subject to legislative ove ...
- current intelligence agency
Notes
References
*Ibrahim Al-Marashi,
Iraqi intelligence operations and objectives in Turkey Alternatives, Vol. 2, No.1, Spring 2003
External links
*Globalsecurity.org
Defunct Iraqi intelligence agencies
Military of Iraq
Military intelligence agencies
Organizations disestablished in 2003