193-436: [REDACTED] Central Intelligence Agency Logistical support: Operation Eagle Claw ( Persian : عملیات پنجه عقاب) was a failed operation by the United States Armed Forces ordered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter to attempt the rescue of 53 embassy staff held captive at the Embassy of the United States, Tehran , on 24 April 1980. The operation, one of Delta Force 's first, encountered many obstacles and failures and
386-462: A U.S. Air Force Combat Controller , Major John T. Carney Jr., was flown in a Twin Otter to Desert One by covert CIA operatives Jim Rhyne and Claude "Bud" McBroom for a clandestine survey of the proposed landing areas for the helicopters and C-130s. Carney installed remotely operated infrared lights and an IR strobe to outline a landing pattern for the pilots. He also took soil samples to determine
579-583: A CIA paid mob led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini would spark what a U.S. embassy officer called "an almost spontaneous revolution" but Mosaddegh was protected by his new inner military circle, and the CIA had been unable to gain influence within the Iranian military. Their chosen man, former General Fazlollah Zahedi, had no troops to call on. After the failure of the first coup, Roosevelt paid demonstrators to pose as communists and deface public symbols associated with
772-608: A General Conference of the Iraqi Ba'ath party in Syria to elect a new leadership (the faction's armed wing is The Return ). This move caused a significant amount of controversy within the party, with al-Douri issuing a statement criticizing Syria for what al-Douri claimed was an American-supported attempt to undermine the Iraqi Ba'ath party, although this statement was later downplayed. The conference elected al-Ahmed as secretary-general, and al-Ahmed issued an order expelling al-Douri from
965-466: A Presidential military order issued by President Roosevelt on June 13, 1942. The idea for a centralized intelligence organization was first proposed by General William J. Donovan, who envisioned an intelligence service that could operate globally to counter communist threats and provide crucial intelligence directly to the President. Donovan proposed the idea to President Roosevelt in 1944, suggesting
1158-642: A Russian translator and Soviet spy. However, the CIA was successful in influencing the 1948 Italian election in favor of the Christian Democrats . The $ 200 million Exchange Stabilization Fund (equivalent to $ 2.5 billion in 2023), earmarked for the reconstruction of Europe, was used to pay wealthy Americans of Italian heritage. Cash was then distributed to Catholic Action , the Vatican's political arm, and directly to Italian politicians. This tactic of using its large fund to purchase elections
1351-507: A coup. Because of the revelations, the Iraqi government initiated a purge of thousands of public officials. The purge triggered Sunni protests, with many calling for Sunni autonomy within Iraq. Surprisingly to outside observers, al-Douri's Ba'ath party opposed Sunni autonomy and, in a statement, referred to it as "a dangerous plan to divide Iraq along sectarian lines." However this condemnation
1544-520: A drive to improve the party's internal security. In 1964, Hussein established the Jihaz Haneen, the party's secretive security apparatus, to act as a counterweight to the military officers in the party and to weaken the military's hold on the party. In contrast to the coup of 1963, the 1968 coup was led by civilian Ba'ath Party members. According to historian Con Coughlin, the President of Iraq Abdul Rahman Arif , who had taken over from his brother,
1737-536: A long weekend vacation in Florida. The following day, Friday 11 April, Brzezinski held a newly scheduled meeting of the National Security Council where he insisted that it was time to "lance the boil", and Carter said it was "time for us to bring our hostages home". During this Security Council meeting of 11 April Carter confirmed that he had authorized the mission. He also continued to entertain
1930-721: A member of the National Front , was elected Iranian prime-minister. As prime minister, he nationalized the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which his predecessor had supported. The nationalization of the British-funded Iranian oil industry, including the largest oil refinery in the world, was disastrous for Mosaddegh. A British naval embargo closed the British oil facilities, which Iran had no skilled workers to operate. In 1952, Mosaddegh resisted
2123-555: A nearby pickup truck which was following; it was reported that the gas tank truck and a bus with 44 civilians were the vehicles which were stopped at the opposite ends of the dirt road near the Desert One landing site when the C-130 aircraft landed. Nine caskets were made, with Ayatollah Sadegh Khalkhali alleging that nine Americans were killed. The American bodies, which were acknowledged to have been numbered at eight, were returned to
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#17327728912662316-461: A number of subversive operations in the country, all of which failed due to the presence of double agents. Millions of dollars were spent in these efforts. These included a team of young CIA officers airdropped into China who were ambushed, and CIA funds being used to set up a global heroin empire in Burma's Golden Triangle following a betrayal by another double agent. In 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh ,
2509-685: A rushed secret program. The first fully modified aircraft crashed during a demonstration at Duke Field at Eglin Air Force Base on 29 October 1980, when its landing braking rockets were fired too soon. The misfire caused a hard touchdown that tore off the starboard wing and started a fire. All on board survived without injury. The impending change of administration in the White House forced this project's abandonment. Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA / ˌ s iː . aɪ ˈ eɪ / ), known informally as
2702-538: A statement condemning sectarianism within the party, specifically criticizing al-Douri's faction. The OCES condemned the leadership's decision of creating a primary Sunni leadership and a reserve Shiite leadership. This decision by the al-Douri faction leadership was a response to complaints by Ba'athist organizations in Shiite-dominated areas on what they considered policy errors which led to marginalization and exclusion of Shiite members. The OCES rejected
2895-524: A third Ba'athist group. al-Douri has been considered more of a symbol, but he doesn't actually hold that much power over the party. In a discussion with the American embassy in Amman, Jordan, in 2007, retired Lieutenant General Khalid al-Jibouri stated that he believed "a powerful shadow group of personnel [was] behind him who really constitute the operational leadership of his faction". He further noted that
3088-644: A union with Syria, which was ruled by the Ba'ath Party, while the more conservative military wing supported Qasim's "Iraq first policy". Factionalism and the ill-disciplined behaviour of the National Guard led the military wing to initiate a coup against the party's leadership. Al-Sadi was forced into exile in Spain . Al-Bakr, in an attempt to save the party, called for a meeting of the National Command of
3281-523: A variety of activities such as the CIA's drone fleet and anti- Iranian nuclear program activities, accounts for $ 2.6 billion. There were numerous previous attempts to obtain general information about the budget. As a result, reports revealed that CIA's annual budget in Fiscal Year 1963 was $ 550 million (inflation-adjusted US$ 5.5 billion in 2024), and the overall intelligence budget in FY 1997
3474-458: A way to improve their options. After much pressure by the U.S., the policy of de-Ba'athification was addressed by the Iraqi government in January 2008 in the highly controversial "Accountability and Justice Act," which was supposed to ease the policy, but which many feared would lead to further dismissals. The new Constitution of Iraq , approved by a referendum on 15 October 2005, reaffirmed
3667-464: A white marble column with a bronze plaque listing the names and ranks of those who lost their lives during the mission. The incident is considered as a US defeat and is commemorated annually in Tabas where government officials, religious leaders and people gather and display wreckage of the American planes and helicopters from the incident. A mosque called "gratitude mosque" was built at the crash site. On
3860-666: Is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia . As a principal member of the United States Intelligence Community (IC), the CIA reports to the director of national intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the president and Cabinet . The agency's founding followed the dissolution of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) at
4053-459: Is mainly focused on intelligence gathering overseas, with only limited domestic intelligence collection . The CIA serves as the national manager for HUMINT, coordinating activities across the IC. It also carries out covert action at the behest of the president . The CIA exerts foreign political influence through its paramilitary operations units, including its Special Activities Center . The CIA
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#17327728912664246-778: Is responsible for all matters pertaining to congressional interaction and oversight of US intelligence activities. It claims that it aims to: The CIA established its first training facility, the Office of Training and Education, in 1950. Following the end of the Cold War , the CIA's training budget was slashed, which had a negative effect on employee retention . In response, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet established CIA University in 2002. CIA University holds between 200 and 300 courses each year, training both new hires and experienced intelligence officers, as well as CIA support staff. The facility works in partnership with
4439-402: Is responsible for collecting foreign intelligence (mainly from clandestine HUMINT sources), and for covert action. The name reflects its role as the coordinator of human intelligence activities between other elements of the wider U.S. intelligence community with their HUMINT operations. This directorate was created in an attempt to end years of rivalry over influence, philosophy, and budget between
4632-470: Is such that the possibility of US–UAR collaboration with Ba'ath Party activists cannot be ruled out," concluding that "[w]hatever the validity of [Sale's] charges, at the very least currently declassified documents reveal that US officials were actively considering various plots against Qasim and that the CIA was building up assets for covert operations in Iraq." The assassins, including Saddam, escaped to Cairo , Egypt "where they enjoyed Nasser's protection for
4825-575: Is that al-Ahmed's faction, which is based in Syria, does not have exclusive Syrian support and, considering that it is based in Syria, the party is susceptible to Syrian interference in its affairs. However, despite the differences between the al-Douri and al-Ahmed factions, both of them adhere to Ba'athist thought. On 2 January 2012, the Organizations of Central Euphrates and the South (OCES), believed to be headed by Hamed Manfi al-Karafi, issued
5018-707: Is the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order . According to Abu Muhammad, a Ba'ath Party spokesman from al-Douri's faction, on the eve of Saddam's death, "Comrade Izzat has been leading the [Ba'ath] party's political and resistance factions since 2003, but it is a matter of protocol and internal regulation to appoint him officially as the party's secretary-general." Al-Douri was elected the party's secretary-general in early January. Despite al-Douri's succession, another high ranking Ba'athist, Younis al-Ahmed , called for
5211-446: Is unlikely that the Ba'athists would've needed assistance in identifying Iraqi communists, it is widely believed that the CIA provided the Ba'athist National Guard with lists of communists and other leftists, who were then arrested or killed. Gibson emphasizes that the Ba'athists compiled their own lists, citing Bureau of Intelligence and Research reports. On the other hand, historians Nathan Citino and Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt consider
5404-475: The Departments of State and War . The division lasted only a few months. The first public mention of the "Central Intelligence Agency" appeared on a command-restructuring proposal presented by Jim Forrestal and Arthur Radford to the U.S. Senate Military Affairs Committee at the end of 1945. Army Intelligence agent Colonel Sidney Mashbir and Commander Ellis Zacharias worked together for four months at
5597-591: The Iraqi Parliament's Law 28 of 1932 "Governing the Rights and Duties of Cultivators". By 1953, the party, led by al-Rikabi, was engaged in subversive activities against the government. The party initially consisted of a majority of Shia Muslims, as al-Rikabi primarily recruited his friends and family, but it slowly became Sunni -dominated. The Ba'ath Party, and others of pan-Arab orientation, found it increasingly difficult to recruit Shia members within
5790-670: The Iraqi Regional Branch , is an Iraqi Ba'athist political party founded in 1951 by Fuad al-Rikabi . It was the Iraqi regional branch of the original Ba'ath Party , before changing its allegiance to the Iraqi-dominated Ba'ath movement following the 1966 split within the original party. The party was officially banned following the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, but despite this it still continues to function underground. The Iraqi Regional Branch of
5983-682: The National Intelligence University , and includes the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis , the Directorate of Analysis' component of the university. For later stage training of student operations officers, there is at least one classified training area at Camp Peary , near Williamsburg, Virginia . Students are selected, and their progress evaluated, in ways derived from the OSS, published as
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6176-462: The National Security Council issued Directive 10/2 calling for covert action against the Soviet Union , and granting the authority to carry out covert operations against "hostile foreign states or groups" that could, if needed, be denied by the U.S. government. To this end, the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) was created inside the new CIA. The OPC was unique; Frank Wisner , the head of
6369-494: The Nimitz when electrical problems disabled flight instruments and flying without visual references proved impossible. The remaining six helicopters reached Desert One , 50 to 90 minutes behind schedule. Bluebeard 2 arrived last at Desert One at 01:00 with a malfunctioning secondary hydraulic system, leaving only one hydraulic system to control the aircraft. With only five fully serviceable helicopters now remaining to transport
6562-524: The Presidential Palace by Arif, who asked them if they knew of an imminent coup against him. Both al-Naif and Daud denied knowledge of any coup. However, when the Ba'ath Party leadership obtained this information, they quickly convened a meeting at al-Bakr's house. The coup had to be initiated as quickly as possible, even if they had to concede to give al-Naif and Daud the posts of Prime Minister and Defence Minister, respectively. Hussein said at
6755-530: The Regional Command in 1952. The Iraqi Regional Branch was Arab nationalist and vague in its socialist orientation. Al-Rikabi, expelled from the party in 1961 for being a Nasserist , was an early follower of Michel Aflaq , the founder of Ba'athism . During the party's early days, members discussed topics regarding Arab nationalism, the social inequalities that had grown out of the British " Tribal Criminal and Civil Disputes Regulation ", and
6948-1003: The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in India , the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Pakistan , the General Intelligence Service in Egypt , Mossad in Israel , and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in South Korea . The CIA was instrumental in the establishment of intelligence services in several U.S. allied countries, including Germany's BND and Greece's EYP (then known as KYP). The closest links of
7141-599: The Soviet atomic bomb project . In particular, the agency failed to predict the Chinese entry into the Korean War with 300,000 troops. The famous double agent Kim Philby was the British liaison to American Central Intelligence. Through him, the CIA coordinated hundreds of airdrops inside the iron curtain, all compromised by Philby. Arlington Hall , the nerve center of CIA cryptanalysis, was compromised by Bill Weisband ,
7334-431: The U.S. military , including the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command , by providing it with information it gathers, receiving information from military intelligence organizations, and cooperating with field activities. The associate deputy director of the CIA is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the agency. Each branch of the agency has its own director. The Office of Military Affairs (OMA), subordinate to
7527-856: The United States Department of Defense (DOD) and the CIA. In spite of this, the Department of Defense announced in 2012 its intention to organize its own global clandestine intelligence service, the Defense Clandestine Service (DCS), under the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Contrary to some public and media misunderstanding, DCS is not a "new" intelligence agency but rather a consolidation, expansion and realignment of existing Defense HUMINT activities, which have been carried out by DIA for decades under various names, most recently as
7720-437: The bureaucratisation of the party, and decision-making was often cumbersome and inefficient. This inefficiency meant that Saddam could govern without fearing any rivals. The Department for Organisational and Political Affairs (DOPA) was the most important department of the secretariat. It prepared material for discussion that the secretary-general ( Arabic : amin sir ), the party's leader, personally ordered. The DOPA also
7913-463: The president with Senate confirmation and reports directly to the director of national intelligence (DNI); in practice, the CIA director interfaces with the director of national intelligence (DNI), Congress , and the White House , while the deputy director (DD/CIA) is the internal executive of the CIA and the chief operating officer (COO/CIA), known as executive director until 2017, leads
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8106-589: The Agency , metonymously as Langley and historically as the Company , is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action through its Directorate of Operations . The agency
8299-524: The Agency's mission activities. It is the Agency's newest directorate. The Langley, Virginia -based office's mission is to streamline and integrate digital and cybersecurity capabilities into the CIA's espionage, counterintelligence, all-source analysis, open-source intelligence collection, and covert action operations. It provides operations personnel with tools and techniques to use in cyber operations. It works with information technology infrastructure and practices cyber tradecraft . This means retrofitting
8492-823: The Air Force. A DS&T organization analyzed imagery intelligence collected by the U-2 and reconnaissance satellites called the National Photointerpretation Center (NPIC), which had analysts from both the CIA and the military services. Subsequently, NPIC was transferred to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The Directorate of Support has organizational and administrative functions to significant units including: The Directorate of Digital Innovation (DDI) focuses on accelerating innovation across
8685-401: The American hostages if they are invaded by Iraq—whom they identify as an American puppet," may have been influenced by such reports to approve a rescue mission prior to the outbreak of a possible Iran–Iraq War . Planning for a possible rescue mission began on 6 November, two days after the hostages were taken. Army Major General James B. Vaught was appointed as Joint Task Force commander and
8878-696: The Audit Department. The only non-department under the direct responsibility of the secretariat was the Saddam Institute for the Study of the Qur'an . The functions and responsibilities of the secretariat were drawn up in a detailed manner. The Office of the President issued a directive to formulate its hierarchy , and the functions of the sections and departments were clearly defined. The secretariat encompassed all party branches. This system led to
9071-424: The Ba'ath Party . The meeting exacerbated the party's problems. Aflaq, who saw himself as the leader of the pan-Arab Ba'athist movement, declared his intent to take control of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party. The "Iraq first" wing was outraged. President Arif lost patience with the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, and the party was ousted from government on 18 November 1963. The 12 Ba'ath members of the government were forced to resign, and
9264-471: The Ba'ath Party ban, stating that "No entity or program, under any name, may adopt racism , terrorism , the calling of others infidels , ethnic cleansing , or incite, facilitate, glorify, promote, or justify thereto, especially the Saddamist Ba'ath in Iraq and its symbols, regardless of the name that it adopts. This may not be part of the political pluralism in Iraq." Some or many of its members in
9457-569: The Ba'ath Party was established in 1951 or 1952. Some historians claim that the Iraqi Regional Branch was established by Abd ar Rahman ad Damin and Abd al Khaliq al Khudayri in 1947 after their return from the founding congress of the Ba'ath Party held in Damascus , Syria the same year. In another version, Fuad al-Rikabi established the Iraqi Regional Branch in 1948 with Sa'dun Hamadi, a Shia Muslim , but became secretary of
9650-460: The Ba'ath Party's original ideology of secular pan-Arab nationalism which, in many cases, has proven successful in Iraq's Shi'a dominated southern provinces. However, despite his attempts, al-Ahmed has failed in his goal to overthrow al-Douri. Al-Douri's faction is the largest and the most active on the Internet, and the large majority of Ba'athist websites are aligned to al-Douri. Another failure
9843-417: The C-130 aircraft went according to plan. MC-130 Dragon 1 landed at Desert One at 22:47 local time. The landing was made under blacked-out conditions using the improvised infrared landing light system installed by Carney on the airstrip, visible only through night vision goggles . The heavily loaded Dragon 1 required four passes to determine that there were no obstructions on the airstrip and to align with
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#173277289126610036-432: The CIA for cyberwarfare . DDI officers help accelerate the integration of innovative methods and tools to enhance the CIA's cyber and digital capabilities on a global scale and ultimately help safeguard the United States. They also apply technical expertise to exploit clandestine and publicly available information (also known as open-source data ) using specialized methodologies and digital tools to plan, initiate and support
10229-462: The CIA had prepared an in-country team of 15 Iranian and American Persian -speakers, most of whom would act as truck drivers. The complex plan required that on the first night, three USAF EC-130s (Call signs: Republic 4 , 5 , and 6 ), carrying the logistical supplies, and three MC-130E Combat Talons (Call signs: Dragon 1 , 2 , and 3 ), carrying Delta Force and Ranger troops (132 assault and security troops in total), would depart Masirah , off
10422-679: The CIA is organized under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Despite having had some of its powers transferred to the DNI, the CIA has grown in size following the September 11 attacks . In 2013, The Washington Post reported that in the fiscal year 2010, the CIA had the largest budget of all intelligence community agencies, exceeding prior estimates. The CIA's role has expanded since its creation, now including covert paramilitary operations. One of its largest divisions,
10615-401: The CIA officers and ground forces would then drive from Desert Two into Tehran. This team would assault the embassy and Foreign Affairs building, eliminate the guards, and rescue the hostages, with air support from Air Force AC-130 gunships flying from Desert One. The hostages and rescue team would then rendezvous with the helicopters from Desert Two at the nearby Amjadieh Stadium , where
10808-485: The CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis, collecting, analyzing, evaluating, and disseminating foreign intelligence, and carrying out covert operations. As of 2013, the CIA had five priorities: The CIA has an executive office and five major directorates: The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is appointed by
11001-453: The CIA would corroborate Hart's findings. The CIA's station in Seoul had 200 officers, but not a single speaker of Korean . Hart reported to Washington that Seoul station was hopeless, and could not be salvaged. Loftus Becker, deputy director of intelligence, was sent personally to tell Hart that the CIA had to keep the station open to save face. Becker returned to Washington, D.C., pronouncing
11194-575: The CIA's computer network operations budget for fiscal year 2013 was $ 685.4 million. The NSA's budget was roughly $ 1 billion at the time. Rep. Adam Schiff , the California Democrat who served as the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee , endorsed the reorganization. "The director has challenged his workforce, the rest of the intelligence community, and the nation to consider how we conduct
11387-1113: The CIA. The role and functions of the CIA are roughly equivalent to those of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in Germany , MI6 in the United Kingdom , the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) in Australia , the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) in France , the Foreign Intelligence Service in Russia , the Ministry of State Security (MSS) in China ,
11580-417: The Defense Human Intelligence Service. This Directorate is known to be organized by geographic regions and issues, but its precise organization is classified. The Directorate of Science & Technology was established to research, create, and manage technical collection disciplines and equipment. Many of its innovations were transferred to other intelligence organizations, or, as they became more overt, to
11773-538: The Department of Defense. One mistake in mission planning was the selecting of the RH-53D helicopter over the better suited HH-53 helicopter. The various services' failure to cohesively work together prompted the establishment of a new multi-service organization several years later. The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) became operational on 16 April 1987. Each service now has its own special operations forces under USSOCOM's overall control. The lack of well-trained Army helicopter pilots who were capable of
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#173277289126611966-452: The Desert One site, despite only four being absolutely necessary. In a move that is still discussed in military circles, the field commanders advised President Carter to abort the mission, which he did. As the U.S. forces prepared to withdraw from Desert One , one of the remaining helicopters crashed into a transport aircraft that contained both servicemen and jet fuel. The resulting fire destroyed both aircraft and killed eight servicemen. In
12159-482: The EC-130's wing root . In the ensuing explosion and fire, eight servicemen died: five of the fourteen USAF aircrew in the EC-130, and three of the five USMC aircrew in the RH-53D, with only the helicopter's pilot and co-pilot (both badly burned) surviving. After the crash, it was decided to abandon the helicopters. During the frantic evacuation to the EC-130s by the helicopter crews, unsuccessful attempts were made to retrieve their classified mission documents and destroy
12352-461: The EC-130s to transfer 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L) from the bladders to their own main fuel tanks, but Republic 4 had already expended all of its bladder fuel refueling three of the helicopters and had none to transfer. To make it to the air tanker refueling track without running out of fuel, it had to leave immediately and was already loaded with part of the Delta team. In addition, RH-53D Bluebeard 4 needed additional fuel, requiring it to be moved to
12545-432: The German Bundesnachrichtendienst is keeping contact to the CIA office in Wiesbaden . The success of the British Commandos during World War II prompted U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to authorize the creation of an intelligence service modeled after the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and Special Operations Executive . This led to the creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) by
12738-430: The Information Operations Center (IOC), has shifted from counterterrorism to offensive cyber operations . The agency has been the subject of several controversies , including its use of torture , domestic wiretapping , propaganda , and alleged human rights violations and drug trafficking . In 2022, a CIA domestic surveillance program was uncovered that had not been subject to congressional oversight. When
12931-495: The Iranian Air Force conducted two observation flights over the incident area. During the first flight, two F-14s flew over the abandoned US equipment and the flight requested permission to fire on the equipment. This was refused by the Iranian command. The next day, Iranian Air Force F-4 fighter jets patrolling the area thought that the American helicopters were about to fly and they fired at the remaining American equipment with direct order from Abolhassan Banisadr ( Iran's president at
13124-445: The Iraqi Ba'ath Party who were purged and dismissed went on to join Al-Qaeda in Iraq which eventually morphed into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant . On 31 December 2006, one day after Saddam Hussein's execution by hanging, a previously unknown group called the Baghdad Citizens Gathering publicly issued a statement in Amman , Jordan, at the Jordanian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party endorsing Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri as
13317-445: The Iraqi Ba'ath leadership for his supporters, including Saddam. In 1962, both the Ba'ath Party and the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began plotting to overthrow Qasim. On 8 February 1963, Qasim was finally overthrown by the Ba'athists in the Ramadan Revolution ; long suspected to be supported by the CIA, however pertinent contemporary documents relating to the CIA's operations in Iraq have remained classified by
13510-422: The Iraqi branch leadership locally or abroad, while continuing organizational activities according to the Organizations of Central Euphrates and the South leadership's decisions that were reached last year based on prior understandings with the national leadership". Despite breaking with al-Douri's faction, al-Karafi's faction has not aligned itself with either al-Ahmed's faction or Resurrection and Renewal Movement,
13703-407: The National Guard was dissolved and replaced with the Republican Guard . Some authorities believe that Aflaq supported Arif's coup against the Ba'athist government in order to weaken al-Sadi's position within the party and strengthen his own. At the time of al-Sadi's removal from the post of Interior Minister, factionalism and discontent were growing within the party. al-Sadi and Mundur al-Windawi,
13896-678: The OPC, answered not to the CIA Director , but to the secretaries of defense, state, and the NSC. The OPC's actions were a secret even from the head of the CIA. Most CIA stations had two station chiefs, one working for the OSO, and one working for the OPC. With the agency unable to provide sufficient intelligence about the Soviet takeovers of Romania and Czechoslovakia , the Soviet blockade of Berlin , and
14089-525: The OSO was tasked with spying and subversion overseas with a budget of $ 15 million (equivalent to $ 190 million in 2023), the largesse of a small number of patrons in Congress. Vandenberg's goals were much like the ones set out by his predecessor: finding out "everything about the Soviet forces in Eastern and Central Europe – their movements, their capabilities, and their intentions." On June 18, 1948,
14282-482: The Office of Reports and Estimates, which drew its reports from a daily take of State Department telegrams, military dispatches, and other public documents. The CIA still lacked its intelligence-gathering abilities. On August 21, 1950, shortly after, Truman announced Walter Bedell Smith as the new Director of the CIA. The change in leadership took place shortly after the start of the Korean War in South Korea , as
14475-583: The Qur'an. The party sought to control these institutions so that no single opposition party could gain a foothold in them. Below the Regional Command were the bureau structures ( Arabic : maktab al-tandhimat ), which would gather all party activities in a single geographic area into the responsibility of a single unit. Until 1989, there were six bureau structures in the country: in Baghdad , Al-Forat,
14668-571: The Regional Command of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, became deputy prime minister and Minister of Interior – a post he lost on 11 May. Despite not being prime minister, al-Sadi had effective control over the Iraqi Ba'ath Party. Seven out of nine members supported his leadership in the party's Regional Command. According to Coughlin, in the aftermath of the coup, the National Guard initiated an "orgy of violence" against all communist and other left-wing elements. This period led to
14861-531: The Shah to exercise his constitutional right to dismiss Mosaddegh. Mosaddegh launched a military coup , and the Shah fled the country. Under CIA Director Allen Dulles , Operation Ajax was put into motion. Its goal was to overthrow Mossadegh with military support from General Fazlollah Zahedi and install a pro-western regime headed by the Shah of Iran. Kermit Roosevelt Jr. oversaw the operation in Iran. On August 16,
15054-494: The Shah. This August 19 incident helped foster public support of the Shah and led gangs of citizens on a spree of violence intent on destroying Mossadegh. An attack on his house would force Mossadegh to flee. He surrendered the next day, and his coup came to an end. Arab Socialist Ba%27ath Party %E2%80%93 Iraq Region The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region ( Arabic : حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي في العراق Ḥizb al-Ba‘th al-'Arabī al-Ishtirākī fī al-'Irāq ), officially
15247-528: The Syrian Ba'ath Military Committee, represented by Salah Jadid , Muhammad Umran , Hafez al-Assad , Salim Hatum and Amin al-Hafiz ; and the Iraqi military wing, which supported Arif's presidency, represented by al-Bakr, Salih Mahdi Ammash , Tahir Yahya and Hardan Tikriti. The military wings in Syria and Iraq opposed the creation of a pan-Arab state, whereas al-Shufi and al-Sadi supported it. Aflaq officially supported it, but privately opposed it because he
15440-664: The Syrian and Iraqi military. Ammash, the Iraqi Minister of Defence , became the chairman of the Higher Military Council. The unified headquarters was in Syria. The establishment of the military union became evident on 20 October 1963, when Syrian soldiers were found fighting alongside the Iraqi military in Iraqi Kurdistan . At this stage, both Iraqi and Syrian Ba'athists feared excluding Nasser from
15633-422: The U.S. government, although the Iraqi Ba'athists are documented to have maintained supportive relationships with U.S. officials before, during, and after the coup. Several army units refused to support the Ba'athist coup. The fighting lasted for two days, during which 1,500–5,000 were killed. Qasim was captured on 9 February and, an hour later, was killed by firing squad . To assure the Iraqi public that Qasim
15826-511: The U.S. intelligence community to other foreign intelligence agencies are to Anglophone countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Special communications signals that intelligence-related messages can be shared with these four countries. An indication of the United States' close operational cooperation is the creation of a new message distribution label within the main U.S. military communications network. Previously,
16019-477: The U.S. military: Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. The concept was based on an operation where helicopters and C-130 aircraft, following different routes, would rendezvous on a salt flat (code-named Desert One ) 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Tehran . Here the helicopters would refuel from the C-130s and pick up the combat troops who had flown in on the C-130 transports. The helicopters would then transport
16212-510: The US. Thus the two areas of responsibility for the CIA were covert action and covert intelligence. One of the main targets for intelligence gathering was the Soviet Union , which had also been a priority of the CIA's predecessors. U.S. Air Force General Hoyt Vandenberg , the CIG's second director, created the Office of Special Operations (OSO) and the Office of Reports and Estimates (ORE). Initially,
16405-537: The United States on 6 May 1980, and buried at various locations across the country. The 44 Iranian civilians taken prisoner on the bus were released and subsequently gave eyewitness accounts of the operation. The eight Americans who died included three Marines and five Air Force personnel. On 25 April 1980, Major General Robert M. Bond read a message from President Jimmy Carter at a memorial service commemorating them in Niceville, Florida . A memorial honoring them
16598-488: The United States when the American forces had been withdrawn and when the government had been toppled. As of 2013, it has been reported that al-Douri is living in the city of Mosul , having left Syria because of the ongoing civil war . Many analysts are afraid that the Ba'ath Party has the potential power to initiate another civil war in Iraq because of al-Douri's popularity in localities with Sunni majorities. The Regional Command (RC) ( Arabic : al-qiyada al-qutriyya )
16791-478: The aircraft. The helicopter crews boarded the EC-130s. Five RH-53D aircraft were left behind at Desert One mostly intact, some damaged by shrapnel. They could not be destroyed because they were loaded with ammunition and any fire or explosion would have endangered the EC-130s. The EC-130s carried the remaining forces back to the intermediate airfield at Masirah Island, where two C-141 medical evacuation aircraft from
16984-501: The assertions plausible because the U.S. embassy in Iraq had actually compiled such lists, were known to be in contact with the National Guard during the purge, and because National Guard members involved in the purge received training in the U.S. Furthermore, Wolfe-Hunnicutt, citing contemporary U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine, notes that the assertions "would be consistent with American special warfare doctrine" regarding U.S. covert support to anti-communist "Hunter-Killer" teams "seeking
17177-618: The associate deputy director, manages the relationship between the CIA and the Unified Combatant Commands , who produce and deliver regional and operational intelligence and consume national intelligence produced by the CIA. The Directorate of Analysis , through much of its history known as the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), is tasked with helping "the President and other policymakers make informed decisions about our country's national security" by looking "at all
17370-585: The available information on an issue and organiz[ing] it for policymakers". The directorate has four regional analytic groups, six groups for transnational issues, and three that focus on policy, collection, and staff support. There are regional analytical offices covering the Near East and South Asia , Russia , and Europe; and the Asia–Pacific , Latin America , and Africa . The Directorate of Operations
17563-498: The bilateral Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1972. At the time of Saddam's fall in April 2003, the Ba'ath Party had 1.5 million members. In June 2003, the U.S. -led Coalition Provisional Authority banned the Ba'ath Party, and banned all members of the party's top four tiers from the new government and from public schools and colleges, a move which some criticised for blocking too many experienced people from participating in
17756-429: The bilateral unification process between Iraq and Syria. In the aftermath of the coup-led against the Ba'ath Party, al-Bakr became the party's dominant driving force and was elected secretary-general of the Regional Command in 1964. Saddam Hussein received full party membership and a seat in the Regional Command of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party because he was a close protege of al-Bakr. With al-Bakr's consent, Hussein initiated
17949-405: The book Assessment of Men, Selection of Personnel for the Office of Strategic Services . Additional mission training is conducted at Harvey Point , North Carolina . The primary training facility for the Office of Communications is Warrenton Training Center , located near Warrenton, Virginia . The facility was established in 1951 and has been used by the CIA since at least 1955. Details of
18142-565: The building of the cult of personality of Saddam. From the 1990s until the fall of the Ba'ath Party in 2003, it became involved in the handling of food distribution, the pursuing and apprehension of military deserters and, by the end, it was responsible for the preparations for the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Branches and sections enjoyed powers similar to those of the police in the West . Outside of Baghdad, they were "legally authorised to incarcerate suspects using Extrajudicial procedures ". One of
18335-516: The business of intelligence in a world that is profoundly different from 1947 when the CIA was founded," Schiff said. The Office of Congressional Affairs ( OCA ) serves as the liaison between the CIA and the US Congress . The OCA states that it aims to ensures that Congress is fully and currently informed of intelligence activities. The office is the CIA's primary interface with Congressional oversight committees, leadership, and members. It
18528-547: The centre, southern and northern Iraq, and one bureau for military affairs. By 2002, there were 17. Below the bureau structures was the branch ( Arabic : Fir ), which supervised the activities of the sections, divisions and cells ( Arabic : shu'ba, firqa and khaliyya) . Several of these organs were merged or split, and the number of branches had increased to 69 branches by 2002. The numbers of sections and divisions varied between provinces. As membership increased, new sections and divisions were established. In Maysan province ,
18721-567: The coast of Oman , for Desert One, a flight of over 1,000 miles (1600 km). They would be refueled by Air Force KC-135 tankers en route. Desert One would be secured by a protection force, and once secured, a refueling area would be established for the helicopters with approximately 6,000 US gallons (22,700 L) of jet fuel being made available from collapsible fuel bladders carried in the C-130s. Eight United States Navy (USN) RH-53D Sea Stallion (Call signs: Bluebeard 1 – 8 ) helicopters were positioned aboard USS Nimitz , 60 miles off
18914-598: The coast of Iran. The helicopters would fly 600 miles (970 km) to Desert One , refuel, load up the Delta Force and part of the Ranger teams, then fly 260 miles (420 km) further to Desert Two. As it would be close to morning, the helicopters and ground forces would hide during the day at Desert Two . The rescue operation would take place the second night. First, CIA officers who were already inside Iran would bring trucks they had sourced to Desert Two . Together,
19107-496: The context of the Iranian Revolution , Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , stated that the mission had been stopped by an act of God ("angels of God") who had foiled the U.S. mission in order to protect Iran and his new Islamist government. In turn, Carter blamed his loss in the 1980 U.S. presidential election mainly on his failure to secure the release of the hostages. The American hostages were released
19300-512: The country. The secretariat had the power to propose marriages and, in certain cases, to approve and disapprove marriages for the sake of the party. At the 8th Regional Congress, the leadership laid emphasis on building "a strong and central national authority." The party leadership's response to the party's apparent lack of centralisation came with a Revolutionary Command Council resolution which stated that "all correspondence between state ministries and party organisations are to be sent through
19493-522: The coups of 1958 and 1963, the 1968 coup was a "relatively civil affair". The coup begun in the early morning of 17 July, when the military and Ba'ath Party activists seized several key positions in Baghdad, such as the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, television and radio stations and the electricity station. All the city's bridges were captured, all telephone lines were cut and at exactly 03:00,
19686-420: The creation of a "Central Intelligence Service" that would continue peacetime operations similar to those of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which he led during World War II. Upon President Roosevelt's death, the new president Harry Truman inherited a presidency largely uninformed about key wartime projects and global intelligence activities. Truman's initial view of the proposed central intelligence agency
19879-661: The day of Ronald Reagan 's inauguration . On 4 November 1979, fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were taken hostage in the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, by a group of Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line , avid supporters of the Iranian Revolution . American President Jimmy Carter called the hostage-taking an act of "blackmail" and
20072-421: The day-to-day work as the third-highest post of the CIA. The deputy director is formally appointed by the director without Senate confirmation, but as the president's opinion plays a great role in the decision, the deputy director is generally considered a political position, making the chief operating officer the most senior non-political position for CIA career officers. The Executive Office also supports
20265-488: The decision, and considered them illegitimate. In its statement, the OCES stated that "the failure to implement [its] decisions is considered a rebellion against legitimate authority [...]" and "a conscious and explicit threat, and an attempt to impose a bitter reality through decisions that are tainted by sectarian and regional motivations." In its ending remarks, the OCES statement read "any connection or link with any member of
20458-635: The development of a subsequent concept involving only fixed-wing STOL aircraft capable of flying from the US to Iran using aerial refueling, then returning to land on an aircraft carrier for medical treatment of wounded. The concept called Operation Credible Sport , was developed but never implemented. It called for a modified Hercules, the YMC-130H, outfitted with rocket thrusters fore and aft to allow an extremely short landing and take-off in Amjadieh Stadium. Three aircraft were modified under
20651-625: The direction of Fleet Admiral Joseph Ernest King , and prepared the first draft and implementing directives for the creation of what would become the Central Intelligence Agency. Despite opposition from the military establishment, the State Department , and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Truman established the National Intelligence Authority in January 1946. Its operational extension
20844-590: The embassy and a 13-man special forces assault team from Detachment "A" Berlin Brigade to assault the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where three further hostages were being held. A third group of 12 Rangers were to act as the roadblock team at the Desert One landing area. Rangers were also tasked with taking and holding the Manzariyeh Air Base near Tehran to be used to escape from Iran. In addition,
21037-574: The end of World War II by President Harry S. Truman , who created the Central Intelligence Group under the direction of a director of central intelligence by presidential directive on January 22, 1946. The agency's creation was authorized by the National Security Act of 1947 . Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is a domestic security service, the CIA has no law enforcement function and
21230-454: The establishment in Baghdad of several interrogation chambers. The government requisitioned several private houses and public facilities, and an entire section of Kifah Street was used by the National Guard. Many of the victims of the rout were innocent, or were victims of personal vendettas . According to Coughlin, the most notorious torture chamber was located at the "Palace of the End," where
21423-430: The failed rescue operation at 01:00 a.m. the following day (25 April 1980). Iranian Army investigators found eight bodies (eight Americans) and also alleged to have found the body of an Iranian civilian. However, it has been acknowledged that the fuel tank driver near the landing site who refused to stop, and whose tanker truck exploded after being hit by an anti-tank round, managed to leap from his vehicle and escape in
21616-567: The fiscal 2013 figure is $ 52.6 billion. According to the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures , the CIA's fiscal 2013 budget is $ 14.7 billion, 28% of the total and almost 50% more than the budget of the National Security Agency. CIA's HUMINT budget is $ 2.3 billion, the SIGINT budget is $ 1.7 billion, and spending for security and logistics of CIA missions is $ 2.5 billion. "Covert action programs," including
21809-422: The flight, RH-53D Bluebeard 6 made an emergency landing in the desert when a sensor indicated a cracked rotor blade. Its crew was picked up by Bluebeard 8 and the aircraft was abandoned in the desert. The remaining helicopters ran into an unexpected weather phenomenon known as a haboob (an enormous, nearly opaque cloud of fine dust). Bluebeard 5 flew into the haboob, but abandoned the mission and returned to
22002-509: The government, Qasim created an alliance with the Iraqi Communist Party , which was opposed to the notion of pan-Arabism. Qasim's policies angered several pan-Arab organisations, including the Ba'ath Party, which later began plotting to assassinate Qasim at Al-Rashid Street on 7 October 1959 and take power. One assassin was to kill those sitting in the back of the car, the rest would kill those in front. Abdul Karim al-Shaikhly,
22195-470: The hostages "victims of terrorism and anarchy". but in Iran it was widely seen as an act against the U.S. and its influence in Iran, including its perceived attempts to undermine the Iranian Revolution and its longstanding support of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , who was overthrown in 1979. The crisis had reached a climax after diplomatic negotiations failed to secure the release of
22388-417: The hostages and rescue teams would board the helicopters. In parallel to the rescue, an Army Ranger company would capture the abandoned Manzariyeh Air Base, ( 34°58′58″N 50°48′20″E / 34.98278°N 50.80556°E / 34.98278; 50.80556 ) about 60 miles southwest of Tehran, to allow two C-141 Starlifters to arrive from Saudi Arabia. The helicopters would bring all parties from
22581-705: The hostages and the embassy grounds and to transport the rescue team from Desert Two to the embassy grounds in pre-staged vehicles. Desert One was in the South Khorasan Province , in the Dasht-e Lut desert near Tabas ( 33°04′23″N 55°53′33″E / 33.07306°N 55.89250°E / 33.07306; 55.89250 ); Desert Two was located 50 miles (80 km) short of Tehran at 35°14′N 52°09′E / 35.233°N 52.150°E / 35.233; 52.150 . The ground forces consisted of 93 Delta soldiers to assault
22774-596: The hostages. Facing elections and with little to show from negotiations, the Carter government ordered the State Department to sever diplomatic relations with Iran on 7 April 1980. Cyrus Vance , the United States Secretary of State , had argued against a push by National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski for a military solution to the crisis. Vance left Washington on Thursday 10 April for
22967-492: The idea. al-Jundi was given the task of setting up a committee to begin establishing the union. al-Jundi selected al-Sadi as Iraq's chief representative in the committee in a bid to strengthen al-Sadi's position within the Ba'ath Party. Work on the union continued with the signing of the Military Unity Charter which established the Higher Military Council, an organ which oversaw the integration and control over
23160-469: The information they sent. In September 1952 Haney was replaced by John Limond Hart, a Europe veteran with a vivid memory for bitter experiences of misinformation. Hart was suspicious of the parade of successes reported by Tofte and Haney and launched an investigation which determined that the entirety of the information supplied by the Korean sources was false or misleading. After the war, internal reviews by
23353-456: The lack of a clear warning to the President and NSC about the imminent North Korean invasion was seen as a grave failure of intelligence. The CIA had different demands placed on it by the various bodies overseeing it. Truman wanted a centralized group to organize the information that reached him. The Department of Defense wanted military intelligence and covert action, and the State Department wanted to create global political change favorable to
23546-574: The leader of the Ba'ath Party's National Guard, led the civilian wing. President Arif led the military wing and Talib El-Shibib led the pro-Aflaq wing. However, a bigger schism was underway in the international Ba'athist movement. Four major factions were being created: the Old Guard led by Aflaq; a civilian alliance between the secretaries-general of the Regional Commands of Syria and Iraq, led by Hammud al-Shufi and al-Sadi respectively;
23739-601: The leader of the Free Officers Movement which overthrew the king , supported joining the UAR, but changed his position when he took power. Several members of the Free Officer Movement were also members of the Ba'ath Party. The Ba'ath Party considered the President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser , the leader of the pan-Arab movement, to be the leader most likely to succeed, and supported Iraq's joining
23932-612: The leader of the assassination plot, recruited a young Saddam Hussein to join the conspiracy after one of the would-be assassins left. During the ambush, Saddam (who was only supposed to provide cover) began shooting prematurely, which disorganised the whole operation. Qasim's chauffeur was killed and Qasim was hit in the arm and shoulder. The assassins thought they had killed him and quickly retreated to their headquarters, but Qasim survived. Richard Sale of United Press International (UPI), citing former U.S. diplomat and intelligence officials, Adel Darwish , and other experts, reported that
24125-616: The lives of the hostages, opted to resign, regardless of whether the mission was successful or not. His resignation was confirmed several days later. Ruhollah Khomeini condemned Jimmy Carter, and in a speech after the incident, credited God with protecting Iran. He said: "Who crushed Mr. Carter's helicopters? We did? The sands did! They were God's agents. Wind is God's agent ... These sands are agents of God. They can try again!" The embassy hostages were subsequently scattered across Iran to preclude any second rescue attempt and were released on 20 January 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan had taken
24318-416: The load-bearing properties of the desert surface. At the time of the survey, the salt-flat floor was hard-packed sand, but in the ensuing three weeks an ankle-deep layer of powdery sand had been deposited by sandstorms. The Tehran CIA Special Activities Division in-country paramilitary team, led by retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer Richard J. Meadows , had two assignments: to obtain information about
24511-488: The low-level night flying needed for modern special operations missions prompted the creation of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) ( Night Stalkers ). In addition to the 160th SOAR's creation, the US Defense Department now trains many military helicopter pilots in low-level penetration, aerial refueling, and use of night-vision goggles. In addition to the formal report, various reasons for
24704-435: The marking of NOFORN (i.e., No Foreign Nationals) required the originator to specify which, if any, non-U.S. countries could receive the information. A new handling caveat, USA/AUS/CAN/GBR/NZL Five Eyes , used primarily on intelligence messages, gives an easier way to indicate that the material can be shared with Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The task of the division called " Verbindungsstelle 61 " of
24897-455: The meeting, "I am aware that the two officers have been imposed on us and that they want to stab the party in the back in the service of some interest or other, but we have no choice. We should collaborate with them and liquidate immediately during, or after, the revolution. And I volunteer to carry out the task". The 17 July Revolution was a military coup, not a popular revolt against the incumbent government. According to Coughlin, compared to
25090-422: The men and equipment to Desert Two (minimum of six aircraft was the planned mission's abort threshold), the various commanders reached a stalemate. Senior helicopter pilot Seiffert refused to use unsafe Bluebeard 2 on the mission, while Beckwith (field commander for ground forces) refused to consider reducing his trained rescue team's size. Kyle (the field aviation commander), therefore, recommended to Vaught that
25283-540: The military services. The development of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, for instance, was done in cooperation with the United States Air Force . The U-2's original mission was clandestine imagery intelligence over denied areas such as the Soviet Union . It was subsequently provided with signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence capabilities and is now operated by
25476-456: The mission be aborted. The recommendation was passed on by satellite radio to the President. After two and a half hours on the ground, the presidential abort confirmation was received. Fuel consumption calculations showed that the extra 90 minutes idling on the ground waiting for the abort confirmation order had made fuel critical for one of the EC-130s. When it became clear that only six helicopters would arrive at Desert One , Kyle had authorized
25669-515: The mission failure have been argued, with most analysts agreeing that an excessively complex plan, poor operational planning, flawed command structure, lack of adequate pilot training and poor weather conditions were contributing factors. The official Operation Eagle Claw Memorial is at Arlington National Cemetery and is described by cemetery literature thusly: Dedicated in 1983, the Iran Rescue Mission Memorial consists of
25862-485: The new government. Thousands were removed from their positions, including doctors, professors, school teachers and bureaucrats. Many teachers lost their jobs, causing protests and demonstrations at schools and universities. Under the Ba'ath Party, one could not reach high positions in the government or in schools without becoming a party member. Membership was also a prerequisite for university admission. While many Ba'athists joined for ideological reasons, many more joined as
26055-487: The new president of Iraq and the party's secretary-general following Saddam's death. The statement referred to Iraqis killed in the 1980–88 war with Iran , the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait and the 13 years of sanctions afterwards, and went on to say, "We vow to liberate our country from the heinous criminals, neo-Zionists and the Persians in order to restore Iraq's unity". The party's armed wing since al-Douri's ascension
26248-472: The non-military National Intelligence Program, including $ 4.8 billion for the CIA. After the Marshall Plan was approved, appropriating $ 13.7 billion over five years, 5% of those funds or $ 685 million were secretly made available to the CIA. A portion of the enormous M-fund, established by the U.S. government during the post-war period for reconstruction of Japan, was secretly steered to
26441-448: The number of sections increased from five in 1989 to 20 in 2002, each section in turn having 93 divisions. By September 2002, there existed 4,468 party offices in the country, and there were 32,000 cells. Nationally, the Ba'ath Party functioned as an institution acting as the eyes and ears of the government. During its rule, the party gained influence over the military, the government bureaucracy, labour, professional unions and, not least,
26634-479: The oath of office, after winning the 1980 election over Carter. Retired Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James L. Holloway III led the official investigation in 1980 into the causes of the operation's failure on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Holloway Report primarily cited deficiencies in mission planning, command and control, and inter-service operability, and provided a catalyst to reorganize
26827-427: The operation and took them into custody. At the show trial , six of the defendants were sentenced to death and, for unknown reasons, the sentences were not carried out. Aflaq, the leader of the Ba'athist movement, organised the expulsion of leading Iraqi Ba'athist members, such as Fuad al-Rikabi , on the grounds that the party should not have initiated the attempt on Qasim's life. At the same time, Aflaq secured seats in
27020-471: The opposite side of the road. To accomplish both actions, Bluebeard 3 piloted by Maj. James Schaefer had to be moved from directly behind the EC-130. The aircraft could not be moved by ground taxi and had to be moved by hover taxi (flying a short distance at low speed and altitude). A Combat Controller attempted to direct the maneuvre from in front of the aircraft but was blasted by desert sand churned up by
27213-508: The order was given to march on the Presidential Palace. President Arif was asleep and had no control over the situation. al-Bakr masterminded the plot, but Hussein and Saleh Omar al-Ali led operations on the ground. A power struggle began between the Ba'ath Party led by al-Naif and the military led by Daud, which al-Bakr had anticipated and planned. Daud lost his ministership during an official visit to Jordan , while al-Naif
27406-566: The overall United States intelligence budget are classified. Under the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949, the Director of Central Intelligence is the only federal government employee who can spend "un-vouchered" government money . The government showed its 1997 budget was $ 26.6 billion for the fiscal year. The government has disclosed a total figure for all non-military intelligence spending since 2007;
27599-472: The party organisation. Most Shias saw pan-Arab as largely Sunni, since most Arabs are Sunni. As a result, more Shias joined the Iraqi Communist Party than the Ba'ath Party. In the mid-1950s, eight of 17 members of the Ba'ath leadership were Shia. According to Talib El-Shibib , the Ba'ath foreign minister in the Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr government, the sectarian background of the leading Ba'ath members
27792-618: The party secretariat." The head of the secretariat was the deputy director, who was the second in the order of precedence . The office of director of the secretariat was the leading organ within the body. The secretariat had 11 departments: the Military and Armaments Department, Vocational Schools Department, Courses Department, Finance Department, Organisational and Political Department, Party Affairs and Information Department, Personnel and Administrative Department, Technical Department, Information and Studies Department, Legal Department and
27985-473: The party was modernizing, in the sense that it recognized it would be impossible to return to power alone, while, at the same time, it returned to its old, Ba'athist ideological roots. In another note, al-Jibouri noted that the Ba'ath Party had become a major enemy of al-Qaida in Iraq . In the wake of Muammar Gaddafi 's downfall , the new Libyan government sent documents to the Iraqi government which claimed that Ba'athists, with help from Gaddafi, were planning
28178-498: The party's first secretary-general of the Regional Command. Emerging as the party strongman, Hussein used his growing power to push al-Bakr aside in 1979 and ruled Iraq until the 2003 Invasion of Iraq . Several major infrastructures were laid down to assist the country's growth, and the Iraqi oil industry was nationalised with help from the Soviet Union . Alexei Kosygin , Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers , signed
28371-532: The party's most important functions was gathering information about its opponents. In Northern Iraq , the Ba'ath gathered information about the Kurdish Democratic Party by tracking their activities among the local population. They tried to recruit members from Kurd -dominated areas through supplying food or a literacy campaign. During the drive to Arabise Kurdistan , the party resettled several hundred loyal party officials there to strengthen
28564-603: The party, resulting in al-Douri issuing a counter order expelling al-Ahmed and 150 other party members. These events led to the existence, in effect, of two Iraqi Ba'ath Parties: the main party led by al-Douri, and a splinter party led by al-Ahmed. al-Ahmed's Ba'ath Party is based in Syria. It is believed to contain most of the remaining leading party figures who were not arrested or executed, including Mezher Motni Awad , To'ma Di'aiyef Getan, Jabbar Haddoosh, Sajer Zubair, and Nihad alDulaimi. In contrast to al-Douri's group, al-Ahmad's faction has had success in recruiting Shi'as to
28757-528: The party. While al-Ahmed and the faction's senior leaders are Sunnis, there are many Shiites who are working in the organization's middle level. Upon his election as leader, an al-Ahmed's faction statement said he was "of Shia origins and coming from Shia areas in Nineveh governorate". In contrast to al-Ahmed, al-Douri has stuck to a more conservative policy, recruiting members from a largely Sunni-dominated areas. It could be said that al-Ahmed has returned to
28950-399: The planning for a concurrent punitive air-strike, but this was finally rejected on 23 April, one day before the start of the mission, which was code-named Operation Eagle Claw . Operation Eagle Claw occurred amidst a breakdown in diplomatic relations between Iran and its western neighbor Iraq , including frequent border skirmishes, calls by Khomeini for Iraqi Shi'ites to revolt against
29143-425: The remainder of Qasim's tenure in power." At the time of the attack, the Ba'ath Party had less than 1,000 members, however the failed assassination attempt led to widespread exposure for Saddam and the Ba'ath within Iraq, where both had previously languished in obscurity, and later became a crucial part of Saddam's public image during his tenure as president of Iraq . The Iraqi government arrested some members of
29336-469: The road from Ashkezar to Tabas, at the location of Desert One there are several remnants of the operation, including wreckage and mock-ups of the RH-53D helicopters. An Iranian air-defense system is named Tabas , in commemoration of the crash site. At the old Tehran Airport, there is the shell of a RH-53D airframe on display. Shortly after the first mission failed, planning for a second rescue mission
29529-522: The rotor. The Controller attempted to back away, which led Bluebeard 3 's pilot to mistakenly perceive that his craft was drifting backward (engulfed in a dust cloud, the pilot only had the Controller as a point of reference) and thus attempted to "correct" this situation by applying forward stick to maintain the same distance from the rearward moving marshaller. The RH-53D struck the EC-130's vertical stabilizer with its main rotor and crashed into
29722-460: The royal family was killed in 1958. Nadhim Kazzer, who became director of the Directorate of General Security , was responsible for the acts committed there. The party was ousted from government in November 1963, due to factionalism. The question within the Ba'ath Party was whether or not it would pursue its ideological goal of establishing a union with Syria, Egypt or both. Al-Sadi supported
29915-657: The royal refusal to approve his Minister of War and resigned in protest. The National Front took to the streets in protest. Fearing a loss of control, the military pulled its troops back five days later, and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi gave in to Mosaddegh's demands. Mosaddegh quickly replaced military leaders loyal to the Shah with those loyal to him, giving him personal control over the military. Given six months of emergency powers, Mosaddegh unilaterally passed legislation. When that six months expired, his powers were extended for another year. In 1953, Mossadegh dismissed parliament and assumed dictatorial powers. This power grab triggered
30108-703: The ruling Ba'ath Party , and allegations of Iraqi support for Arab and Kurdish separatists in Iran. According to an 11 April 1980 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analysis, "Evidence indicates that Iraq had probably planned to initiate a major military move against Iran with the aim of toppling the Khomeini regime" and had "sought to engage the Kuwaitis to act as intermediary in obtaining United States approval and support for Iraqi military action against Iran". Carter, who wrote in his diary on 10 April that "The Iranian terrorists are making all kinds of crazy threats to kill
30301-537: The runway for the aircraft. The bus was forced to halt by the Rangers and the passengers were detained aboard Republic 3 . Minutes after the bus had been stopped, the Rangers in the road-watch team observed a fuel tanker truck, ignoring their orders to halt, bearing down on them. The truck, apparently smuggling fuel, was blown up by the Army Ranger roadblock team using a shoulder-fired rocket as it tried to escape
30494-460: The runway. Dragon 1 off-loaded the road-watch teams in Jeeps and a USAF Combat Control Team (CCT) to establish a parallel landing zone north of the dirt road and to set out TACAN beacons to guide in the helicopters. Soon after the first crews landed and began securing Desert One , a civilian Iranian bus with a driver and 43 passengers was stopped while traveling on the road, which now served as
30687-434: The site. The truck's passenger was killed, but the driver managed to escape in an accompanying pickup truck. As the tanker truck was thought to be engaged in clandestine smuggling, the driver was not considered to pose a security threat to the mission. The resulting fire illuminated the nighttime landscape for many miles around, and provided a visual guide to Desert One for the disoriented incoming helicopters. Two hours into
30880-409: The situation to be "hopeless," and that, after touring the CIA's Far East operations, the CIA's ability to gather intelligence in the far east was "almost negligible". He then resigned. Air Force Colonel James Kallis stated that CIA director Allen Dulles continued to praise the CIA's Korean force, despite knowing that they were under enemy control. When China entered the war in 1950, the CIA attempted
31073-581: The stadium to the Manzariyeh airbase, and the C-141s would fly them to an airbase in Egypt. The eight helicopters would be destroyed before departure. Protection for the operation was to be provided by Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) operating from Nimitz and CVW-14 operating from USS Coral Sea . For this operation, the aircraft bore special invasion stripe identification on their right wings. This
31266-623: The staging base at Wadi Abu Shihat, Egypt, picked up the injured personnel, helicopter crews, Rangers, and Delta Force members, and returned to Wadi Kena. The injured were then transported to Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center in Germany. The following day, after learning about the events at Desert One from the local Iranian news, the Tehran CIA team quietly left Iran, with the Iranians unaware of their presence. The White House announced
31459-476: The technical and human-based operations of the CIA. Before the establishment of the new digital directorate, offensive cyber operations were undertaken by the CIA's Information Operations Center. Little is known about how the office specifically functions or if it deploys offensive cyber capabilities. The directorate had been covertly operating since approximately March 2015 but formally began operations on October 1, 2015. According to classified budget documents,
31652-402: The termination of the operation and the abandonment of equipment by the infiltration team, the Iranians became aware of the landings as well as the subsequent accident and fire. Mohammad Montazer al-Qaim, Commander of the Yazd Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) went to the scene to investigate reports from locals. At the same time, without knowing of the investigation activities of the IRGC,
31845-472: The three factions within the Ba'ath Party, two out of three faction leaders were Shia. By the end of 1951, the party had at least 50 members. With the collapse of the pan-Arabist United Arab Republic (UAR), several leading Ba'ath members, including al-Rikabi, resigned from the party in protest. In 1958, the year of the 14 July Revolution that overthrew the Hashemite monarchy , the Ba'ath Party had 300 members nationwide. Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim ,
32038-401: The time ) killing Mohammad Montazer al-Qaim. President Carter continued to attempt to secure the hostages' release before his presidency's end. On 20 January 1981, minutes after Carter's term ended, the 52 US captives held in Iran were released, ending the 444-day Iran hostage crisis. US Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance , believing that the operation would not work and would only endanger
32231-399: The troops to a mountain location ( Desert Two ) closer to Tehran, from which the rescue raid would be launched into the city the following night. The operation was further to be supported by an in-country CIA team. On completion of the raid, hostages were to be taken to a captured Tehran airport from where they were to be flown to Egypt. On 31 March, anticipating the need for military action,
32424-428: The union talks since he had a large following. The Syrian state and its Ba'ath Party criticised the fall of al-Bakr's first government but relented when they discovered that some members of the Iraqi cabinet were Ba'ath Party members. However, the remaining Ba'athists were slowly removed from office. The Syrian Revolutionary Command Council responded by abrogating the Military Unity Charter on 26 April 1964, ending
32617-454: The union. Of the 16 members of Qasim's cabinet, 12 were Ba'ath Party members. However, the Ba'ath Party supported Qasim on the grounds that he would join Nasser's UAR. Qasim, reluctant to tie himself too closely to Nasser's Egypt, sided with various groups within Iraq (notably the social democrats ) that told him such an action would be dangerous. Instead Qasim adopted a wataniyah policy of "Iraq First". To strengthen his own position within
32810-409: The unsuccessful 7 October 1959 assassination attempt on Qasim involving a young Saddam Hussein and other Ba'athist conspirators was a collaboration between the CIA and Egyptian intelligence . Pertinent contemporary records relating to CIA operations in Iraq have remained classified or heavily redacted, thus "allow[ing] for plausible deniability." It is generally accepted that Egypt, in some capacity,
33003-472: The use of federal funds. The act also exempted the CIA from having to disclose its "organization, functions, officials, titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed," and created the program "PL-110" to handle defectors and other "essential aliens" who fell outside normal immigration procedures. At the outset of the Korean War , the CIA still only had a few thousand employees, around one thousand of whom worked in analysis. Intelligence primarily came from
33196-413: The violent overthrow of a communist dominated and supported government", and draws parallels to other CIA operations in which lists of suspected communists were compiled, such as Guatemala in 1954 and Indonesia in 1965–66 . Abdul Salam Arif became the president of Iraq and Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr became prime minister after taking power in February 1963 . Ali Salih al-Sa'di , secretary-general of
33389-464: Was (in practice) a tool in control of the Regional Command. The Ba'ath Party had its own secretariat ( Arabic : maktab amanat sir al-qutr ), through which every major decision in the country was channelled. According to Joseph Sassoon, the secretariat functioned as the "party's board of directors ," overseeing the running of the party branches which, in turn, controlled and collected information about civilian and military life throughout
33582-410: Was US$ 26.6 billion (inflation-adjusted US$ 50.5 billion in 2024). There have been accidental disclosures; for instance, Mary Margaret Graham , a former CIA official and deputy director of national intelligence for collection in 2005, said that the annual intelligence budget was $ 44 billion, and in 1994 Congress accidentally published a budget of $ 43.4 billion (in 2012 dollars) in 1994 for
33775-503: Was a weak leader. Before the coup, Hussein, through the Jihaz Haneen, contacted several military officers who either supported the Ba'ath Party or wanted to use it as a vehicle to power. Some officers, such as Hardan al-Tikriti , were already members of the party, while Abdul Razzak al-Naif , the deputy head of military intelligence, and Colonel Ibrahim Daud, the commander of the Republican Guard , were neither party members nor sympathisers. On 16 July 1968, al-Naif and Daud were summoned to
33968-454: Was afraid al-Sadi would challenge his position as secretary-general of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party, the leader of the international Ba'athist movement. Both Syria and Iraq were under Ba'athist rule in 1963. When President Arif visited Syria on a state visit, Sami al-Jundi , a Syrian cabinet minister, proposed the creation of a bilateral union between the two countries. Both Arif and Amin al-Hafiz , President of Syria , supported
34161-417: Was authorized under the name Project Honey Badger . Plans and exercises were conducted, but the manpower and aircraft requirements grew to involve nearly a battalion of troops, more than fifty aircraft, and such contingencies as transporting a 12-ton bulldozer to rapidly clear a blocked runway. Even though numerous rehearsal exercises were successful, the helicopters' failure during the first attempt resulted in
34354-417: Was considered of little importance because most Ba'athists did not know each other's sectarian denominations . Between 1952 and 1963, 54% of the members of the Ba'ath Regional Command were Shia Muslims, largely because of al-Rikabi's effective recruitment drive in Shia areas. Between 1963 and 1970, after al-Rikabi's resignation, Shia representation in the Regional Command had fallen to 14 percent. However, of
34547-562: Was dead, as well as to terrorize his supporters, the Ba'athists broadcast a five minute long propaganda video called The End of the Criminals of Qasim's corpse being desecrated. Upon the Ba'athist ascension to power, Saddam would return to Iraq after spending nearly three years living in exile, becoming a key organizer within the Ba'ath Party's civilian wing. In its ascension to power, the Ba'athists "methodically hunted down Communists" thanks to "mimeographed lists [...] complete with home addresses and auto license plate numbers," and while it
34740-525: Was erected in the Arlington National Cemetery and Carter attended a memorial service there with the families on 9 May. Three of the servicemen who died – Maj. Richard Bakke, Maj. Harold Lewis Jr., and Sgt. Joel Mayo – were buried in the Arlington National Cemetery in a grave marked by a common headstone, located about 25 feet from the group memorial. In addition, five servicemen were injured, One from Valdosta, Georgia (Capt. Lynn McIntosh), including USMC Majors Jim Schaefer, pilot, and Les Petty, co-pilot. After
34933-447: Was exiled after Hussein threatened him and his family with death. At the time of the 1968 coup, only 5,000 people were members; by the late 1970s, membership had increased to 1.2 million. In 1974, the Iraqi Ba'athists formed the National Progressive Front to broaden support for the government's initiatives. Wrangling within the party continued, and the government periodically purged its dissident members, including Fuad al-Rikabi ,
35126-412: Was frequently repeated in the subsequent years. At the beginning of the Korean War , CIA officer Hans Tofte claimed to have turned a thousand North Korean expatriates into a guerrilla force tasked with infiltration, guerrilla warfare, and pilot rescue. In 1952 the CIA sent 1,500 more expatriate agents north. Seoul station chief Albert Haney would openly celebrate the capabilities of those agents and
35319-428: Was instrumental in establishing intelligence services in many countries, such as Germany 's Federal Intelligence Service . It has also provided support to several foreign political groups and governments, including planning, coordinating, training in torture , and technical support. It was involved in many regime changes and carrying out terrorist attacks and planned assassinations of foreign leaders. Since 2004,
35512-460: Was involved in the assassination attempt, and that "[t]he United States was working with Nasser on some level." Sale and Darwish's account has been disputed by historian Bryan R. Gibson who concludes that available U.S. declassified documents show that "while the United States was aware of several plots against Qasim, it had still adhered to [a] nonintervention policy." On the other hand, historian Kenneth Osgood writes that "the circumstantial evidence
35705-416: Was known as the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), which was the direct predecessor of the CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency was created on July 26, 1947, when President Truman signed the National Security Act into law. A major impetus for the creation of the agency was growing tensions with the USSR following the end of World War II . Lawrence Houston, head counsel of the SSU , CIG, and, later CIA,
35898-423: Was mostly symbolic as Al-Douri's group participated in protests where calls for Sunni Autonomy were present and allied with groups that believed in and agitated for autonomy. In July 2012, the Ba'ath Party published a videotaped speech of al-Douri, in which he condemned the existing government and American interference in Iraq. However, in a change of tone, al-Douri stated he wished to establish good relations with
36091-411: Was necessary to distinguish support aircraft from Iranian F-14 and F-4 aircraft purchased by Iran from the US in the time of the Shah. CVW-14 Marine F-4Ns were marked with a red (VMFA-323) or yellow (VMFA-531) stripe enclosed by two black stripes while CVW-14 attack aircraft ( A-7s and A-6s ) had an orange stripe enclosed by two black stripes. Only the delivery of the soldiers, equipment and fuel by
36284-424: Was principal draftsman of the National Security Act of 1947 , which dissolved the NIA and the CIG, and established both the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1949, Houston helped to draft the Central Intelligence Agency Act ( Pub. L. 81–110 ), which authorized the agency to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures, and exempted it from most limitations on
36477-408: Was responsible for following up on political matters in party branches. One of DOPA's sections was responsible for gathering information for candidates for important positions within the party or the government. Some departments had a similar job to the DOPA section, and were responsible for admissions to the military colleges , institutions for higher education and the Saddam Institute for the Study of
36670-429: Was subsequently aborted. Eight helicopters were sent to the first staging area called Desert One , but only five arrived in operational condition. One had encountered hydraulic problems, another was caught in a sand storm , and the third showed signs of a cracked rotor blade. During the operational planning, it was decided that the mission would be aborted if fewer than six helicopters remained operational upon arrival at
36863-427: Was that of a simple information gathering entity that would function more as a global news service rather than a spy network. His vision starkly contrasted with Donovan's, which focused on avoiding the creation of an American version of the Gestapo . On September 20, 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, Truman signed an executive order dissolving the OSS. By October 1945 its functions had been divided between
37056-399: Was the Iraqi Regional Branch highest decision-making organ. Throughout its history, the RC has normally had 19-21 members. When in power, the Directorate of Security Affairs was responsible for the security of the president and the senior members of the Regional Command. The Regional Congress was (in theory) the de jure decision-making organ on Iraqi regional affairs when in session, but
37249-417: Was to be forward-based at Wadi Kena in Egypt, reporting directly to the President. In turn, he had two field commanders: USAF Colonel James H. Kyle as the field commander for aviation and U.S. Army Colonel Charlie Beckwith as ground forces field commander. In planning the operation, some of the maps the US used were tourist maps. The ambitious plan was to be based on the use of elements from four branches of
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