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IP: 1980s INTELLIGENCE SHARING WITH IRAQ REVISITED
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 06:17:53 -0400
------ Forwarded Message From: "Aftergood, Steven" <saftergood () fas org> Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 13:59:36 -0400 To: secrecy_news () test fas org Subject: Secrecy News -- 07/30/02 1980s INTELLIGENCE SHARING WITH IRAQ REVISITED Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday blamed American defectors to Russia for the difficulty of locating and eliminating Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, arguing that the spies' disclosures had been provided to Iraq and used to support its denial and deception activities. But he neglected to mention that for years Iraq enjoyed more a direct source of U.S. intelligence information. According to Secretary Rumsfeld, "The Iraqis have benefited from American spies defecting to the Soviet Union or Russia and providing information as to how we do things, and then they proliferate that information on how another country can best achieve denial and deception and avoid having the location, precise location, actionable locations of things [i.e., weapons of mass destruction] known." See: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2002/t07292002_t0729sd.html But former CIA analyst Allen Thomson observed that the record indicates a much less roundabout source for Iraqi access to such U.S. intelligence information, namely the U.S. government itself. On May 28, 1984, President Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 141 on "Responding to Escalation in Iran-Iraq War" which authorized intelligence sharing with the Government of Iraq in order to forestall an Iranian victory. (That Directive remains classified.) In 1986, the scope of intelligence sharing with Iraq was expanded twice, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report. The consequences of that arrangement were suggested by Sen. Tom Harkin in a November 7, 1991 floor statement. "The secret intelligence sharing operation with Iraq was not only a highly questionable and possibly illegal operation, but also may have jeopardized American lives and our national interests," Sen. Harkin said. "The photo reconnaissance, highly sensitive electronic eavesdropping and narrative texts provided to Saddam, may not only have helped him in Iraq's war against Iran but also in the recent gulf war. Saddam Hussein may have discovered the value of underground land lines as opposed to radio communications after he was given our intelligence information." "Further, after the Persian Gulf war, our intelligence community was surprised at the extent of Iraq's nuclear program. One reason Saddam may have hidden his nuclear program so effectively from detection was because of his knowledge of our satellite photos. What also concerns me about that operation is that we spend millions of dollars keeping secrets from the Soviets and then we give it to Saddam who sells them to the Soviets," said Sen. Harkin. See Harkin's statement here: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1991_cr/s911107-gates.htm The latter point, of course, contrasts directly with Secretary Rumsfeld's allegation that the Soviets or Russians had forwarded such information to Saddam. "The Iraqis are deceiving U.S. spy satellites and fooling Pentagon intelligence analysts thanks to techniques they learned from U.S. military intelligence officers during the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq," reported Tim Weiner, then of the Philadelphia Inquirer, back in 1991. See his article "Iraq Uses Techniques in Spying Against Its Former Tutor, the U.S.," with commentary by Jonathan Pollard, of all people, here: http://www.jonathanpollard.org/1991/020591.htm ------ End of Forwarded Message For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- IP: 1980s INTELLIGENCE SHARING WITH IRAQ REVISITED Dave Farber (Jul 31)