Volume 1 - Iraq Watch

Structure of the SSO Security Branch• The Organization Section monitored all assignedSSO personnel except those on the presidentialdetail. It had one offi cer assigned to each of theother branches and directorates within the SSO.This section was headed by Mu’ayyid ‘Abd-al-Hamid.• The Special Section monitored all assigned personnelto the presidential detail, including the protectiondetail, those who housed and provided logisticsto the protection detail, and those who providedsupport services to Saddam (Group 40, shepherdsfor live meat, chefs, tailors, and day laborers). Thissection was headed by Sa’d ‘Abdallah Zahran.• The Investigation and Interrogation Section conductedinvestigations, interrogations, and detentionof personnel for crimes ranging from theft totreason. Its jurisdiction was determined by Saddamor Qusay. This section was headed by Col. ‘AdilHamid Jamil.• The Information and Identifi cation Section maintainedpersonnel files, marriage approval, weaponsaccountability, and organizational identifi cationand passports for SSO personnel. The InformationSection, also referred to as “Personnel,” washeaded by Samir ‘Awad, and the Identification Sectionwas headed by Muhammad Wahadi.• The Separated Employees Section monitored allformer SSO offi cers. Also known as the “Veterans’Section,” this section was headed by Tha’ir Al Duri.Administration BranchThe administrative branch of the SSO, which washeaded by Wasfi Mukhlif Al Ajili, had four subordinatesections: Supplies, Services and Maintenance,Personnel (Human Resources), and Accounting,which handled salaries and promotions.Vehicles BranchDespite having its own motor pool and vehicles, theSSO attempted to acquire parts or maintenance for itsown vehicles from the Special Republican Guard. Lt.Col. ‘Isam Mamud ‘Abdallah Al Tikriti headed thetransport assets of the SSO.The Scientific BranchThe SSO operated a laboratory specifically to test thePresident’s food. All food, clothing, and presidentialsupplies were acquired through the Ministry of Healthor the Ministry of Trade. This branch was headedby Dr. Sabah Shuhab Ahmad Al Sumaydi. His twoimmediate subordinates were Dr. ‘Adnan Ibrahim,Head of the Department of Chemistry, and Dr. MujazTawfiq, Head of the Department of Biology.The lab tested anything specifically for the president,including clothing, and its function was verysecretive, even within the SSO. For example, Qusayplanned refusal to acknowledge that the lab belongedto the SSO, even if confronted by UN inspectorsabout the lab. The lab was previously declared asbelonging to the Ministry of Trade, which originallyset up the lab for the SSO. Therefore, UN inspectorsexamined the lab under the assumption that itbelonged to the Ministry of Trade, yet, fully aware ofthe lab’s true function with regard to Saddam. Had theSSO acknowledged its ownership of the lab, it wouldhave further increased the level of distrust betweeninspectors and Iraq.The Special Security InstituteWhile many SSO officers were already seasoned fromprior intelligence service positions, all SSO officerswere trained in Baghdad at the Special SecurityInstitute, directed by Khalid Kulayb ‘Awani. TheInstitute’s primary mission was to educate SSO, SRG,and presidential office employees on all aspects ofgovernmental security, including military training,political indoctrination, and security of presidentialsites. It operated on a yearly schedule with classesbeginning on the seventh day of January, a two-monthvacation in July and August, and completion of theannual curriculum in December.The basic course for Special Security Officers lastedthree months at the Institute in the Al-Jihad district ofBaghdad. The course consisted of physical securitytraining relating to different types of facilities andpremises, personnel security and search techniques,the debriefing of casual contacts, and methods usedby hostile intelligence services to recruit sources.This course turned company-grade Republican Guardofficers into SSO Security Officers, who subsequentlywere embedded into military units.Regime StrategicIntent91