War for Iraq: a Battle for Intelligence Services, a Battle of Disinformation
“The agency headed by Shahwani was established in 2004 under the American administrators who ran Iraq at the time. His agency was supported by the U.S military…There have been complaints that the Iraqi government has marginalized the service because it employs many intelligence officers who served Saddam Hussein…”
That last sentence may also be the key; some of the top officers ‘served in Saddam’s intelligence’.
But al-Shawani defected from Iraq before the Persian Gulf War. He was reported to have close ties with Allawi and the CIA before the invasion of Iraq, and he was also reported to be viewed suspiciously by al-Maliki because the service he headed was initially not controlled by Iraqis. The INIS was established under Paul Bremer.
“Struggle of intelligence services. Recent incidents and the security collapse in Iraq shed light on the condition of Iraqi intelligence services…..This agency that had close relations to the ‘Coalition’ services and managed to avoid ‘sectarian’ quotas…..The sudden resignation of Mohammed Abdullah al-Shahwani, and his departure to Britain then the United States after a stormy session with al-Maliki came after he provided al-Maliki with evidence of involvement of Iranian military and intelligence services as well as sectarian pro-Iranian Iraqi groups in the recent terrorist incidents in Iraq……”
I have some strong doubts about this second author’s allegations that al-Shahwani confronted al-Maliki about Iranian involvement in the terrorist attacks. I also do not believe allegations that Iraqi Shi’a organizations are blowing up their own people: this also is a recent pro-Saudi line and it is the kind of logic and argument used in the past by Ba’athists. This is the usual line now repeated by pro-Saudi elements in Iraq and the Gulf region.
In fact as far back as 2005, al-Shahwani “asserted that former Ba’athists were dominant in the insurgency”.
This last columnist has closely and faithfully echoed the Saudi line and the newspaper he writes for, alseyassah, is Saudi in everything but name and location. His columns are often reprinted in other Saudi online media, as this one most likely will.I don't know much about Iranian involvement inn Iraq, I am sure there is a lot of it although I don't know the nature of it, but i suspect this writer fabricates as he moves along. In other words, he probably ad-libs. I can be wrong, but that is highly unlikely in this case.
Cheers and Ramadan Kareem
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