Volume 1 - Iraq Watch

Regime StrategicIntentThe Special Security Organization.the Directorate of Security Affairs was the largestdirectorate and last headed by Col. Muhammad RijabAl Haddushi. It supplied protective services to thePresidential Diwan and Ba’th Party Regional Command,as well as the support contingency known as“Group 40,” which was composed of drivers, cooks,and launderers who traveled with Saddam.The Directorate of Republican Guard SecurityHani ‘Abd-al-LatifTulfah Al Nasiri, one ofQusay’s most capabledeputies, headed thisdirectorate, whichmonitored loyalty tothe Regime within theRepublican Guard. In2001 Qusay told StaffMaj. Gen. Walid HamidTawfiq, despite Walid’sappointment to SSODirector, that he wouldnot have control overHani ‘Abd al-LatifHani or his directorate. Hani retained his position ofDirector of the Directorate of Republican Guard (RG)Security as he ascended the ranks of the SSO. Threemonths after Walid was appointed as SSO Director,Qusay appointed Hani, his preferred choice for SSODirector, to the position of Assistant Director.Three departments within this directorate closelywatched the SRG, the Allahu Akbar Operations Command(1 st RG Corps), and the Fat’h Al MubayyinOperations Command (2 nd RG Corps). While notlarge enough to warrant their own departments, twoSSO Security Officers scrutinized the RG MissileCommand and the RG Airbase at Al Rashid, as well(see The Republican Guard section, below, for additionalinformation).Prior to 1991 the SSO used security officers to monitor,educate, and discipline the military troops in aneffort to protect against enemy intelligence. After1991 the SSO shifted its focus to monitor the militarycommanders to guarantee their loyalty and politicalreliability. These security officers, reminiscent ofSoviet commissars, were embedded within RepublicanGuard units down to the battalion level, and theydid not answer to the RG chain of command.SSO Security Officers underwent a special threemonthcourse held by the SSO, commonly worecivilian attire or military uniform without rank and,by nature of their positions, were not commonly liked89