Scorpions was an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i paramilitary force set up by the

United States Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

History

The covert members were trained in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

in target identification, explosives and small arms at two secret bases. Weapons and equipment (including old

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Hind helicopters) were supplied by the CIA. Most members were recruited from the Iraqi exile community by

Iraqi Kurds Iraqi Kurds ( ar, العراقيين الكرد, ku, کوردەکانی عێراق) are people born in or residing in Iraq who are of Kurdish origin. The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Iraq, comprising between 15% and 20% of the count ...

. The original mission of the Scorpions was to foment

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

in Iraq prior to the US led invasion. However, due to training delays, little of this mission was ever achieved. Following the war, the CIA began using the Scorpions in anti-insurgency roles, and for interrogations of prisoners. The Scorpions have been implicated in the events that led to the death of Iraqi Maj. Gen.

Abed Hamed Mowhoush Abed Hamed Mowhoush (Arabic "عبد حمد مهاوش") was an air vice-marshal believed to be in command of the transport, logistics and airlifting division of the Iraqi Air Force during the regime of Saddam Hussein immediately prior to the 2003 ...

while in US captivity. These events included the use of physical and psychological

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

under the auspices of a CIA operative and Special Forces retiree identified only as "Brian". The Scorpions' original mission to start - or give the appearance of - a rebellion against the regime of Saddam Hussein's

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused ...

, makes their involvement in the death of Mowoush significant. It is not clear at what point the Scorpions became involved in the interrogation of US held prisoners, other than Mowhoush's interrogation by the Scorpions on November 24.

References

Torture in the Iraq War {{mil-unit-stub

History

See also

References