General Intelligence Directorate (Jordan)

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Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah (Arabic: دائرة المخابرات العامة) (translated: General Intelligence Directorate, or GID) is the intelligence agency of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and a branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. The GID is reportedly one of the most important intelligence agencies in the Middle East,[1] and is considered one of the most professional in the Arab world.[2]

Law and Establishment

Before establishing GID, the department was known as The General Investigation department Arabic:(دائرة المباحث العامة),between 1952 - 1964.

GID was established in accordance with the Act 24 for the year 1964 which went through all its constitutional stages.

GID Director is appointed by a Royal Decree, based on a decision made by the Counsel of Ministers. On January 2, 2008, King Abdullah II replaced director Muhammad Dahabi (brother of Nader Dahabi) with Gen. Muhammad Raqqad, the former GID director.[3] In 2012 Muhammad Dahabi was convicted to 13 years imprisonment. Officers are also appointed by a Royal Decree upon the recommendation of the Director General, they all have university degrees in different majors and must go through security check before joining the service.

According to Jordanian sources, the current GID officer in the Royal Court is Zeid bin Al-Hussein. He advises the King on issues related to recruitment at the Royal Court. Other officers in the GID include Fawzi al-Ma'aytah, Farraj Adeeb Farraj, Fawaz al-Fares al-Abadi, Jamil Samawi, Fawaz al-Khalaylah. The former GID officer in the Jordanian embassy in Tel-Aviv was Hussein al-Abadi.


The law specified and duties of GID constitute in protecting internal and external security of the Kingdom through carrying out necessary intelligence operations, and executing duties assigned by the Prime Minister in writing.

Mission

As quoted from the official GID Site, their mission is Template:Cquote2 In practice, the agency is notoriously known for its extensive activity in Jordan and throughout the Middle East, as well as its cooperation with American, British, and Israeli intelligence. Through a complex spying system, it plays a central role in preserving stability in Jordan and monitoring seditious activity. The GID is believed to be the CIA's closest partner after the MI6. The GID enjoys good relations with the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency,[4] but relations temporarily soured in 1997 after a Mossad attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Amman.

History

The GID was the main force behind maintaining Jordan's stability in the years after Black September, thwarting numerous terrorist plots. Even before the 9/11 attacks, the Jordanians had become key partners in the war on terror. In 1999, tips from the Mukhabarat alerted the CIA to plots by Bosnia-based terrorists against U.S. targets in Europe.

At the dawn of the new millennium, Jordanian Intelligence uncovered a large scale terrorist attack, known as the 2000 Millennium Terrorist attacks, that would have attacked dozens of hotels across Jordan and the United States. Jordan immediately relayed the information to Washington and the attacks were thwarted in both countries. The GID warned the United States of the impending 9/11 attacks. In late summer 2001, Jordanian intelligence intercepted a message implying that a major attack was being planned inside the US and that aircraft would be used. The message also revealed that the operation was codenamed "Big Wedding", which indeed turned out to be the codename of the 9/11 plot. The message was passed to US intelligence through several channels.[5]

As many as 100 al Qaeda prisoners have passed through the Mokhabarat's Al Jafr prison in the southern desert. Among them are some of the biggest catches in the war on terror: Al Qaeda operations head Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Persian Gulf chief Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri.[2] The reliance of US intelligence on its Jordanian counterpart was forged in part by both countries’ aversion to Islamic radicalism. Their collaboration is believed to have helped quell the Al-Qaeda insurgency in Iraq and eliminate terrorist masterminds such as Abu Musab al Zarqawi.[6]

The first director of the GID is General Muhammad Suheimat in 1952 and the current director is Full General Faisal Al Shoubaki.

Emblem

File:GIDlogo.png
The GID Seal
  1. The Crown: The Hashemite Royal Crown represents the Constitutional Monarchy.
  2. The Olive Wreath: Two branches of olive symbolizes prosperity, welfare and peace.
  3. The Shield: An Arabic Islamic shield carved on it twenty five Arabian gates marking independence day, May 25, it also symbolizes defending the security of the nation and safeness of the Home Land.
  4. The Eagle: One of the country's powerful birds, symbolizes power, invulnerability and having control over the target .
  5. The Snake: Symbolizes the invisible enemy either internal or external.
  6. The Two Swords: Two Arabian Swords crisscrossing behind the shield, symbolizing the use of power against terrorism, evil and corruption.
  7. The Ribbon: A ribbon written on it the holy verses "say the truth has prevailed," which represents the truth, seek to implement it and fight the untrue. It also represents the base that the two swords and the two olive branches are settling on.
  8. The Two Lightnings:The two lightning bolts represent the name of one of their special forces. The two lightning bolts also symbolize the swiftness and accuracy of the General Intelligence Directorate

References

  1. WashingtonPost.com
  2. 2.0 2.1 http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/030602/2terror.b.htm
  3. Barari, Hassan (2009-01-22). "Jordan's Intelligence Chief Sacked: New Policy Toward Hamas?". The Washington Institute for Near East Police. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2995. Retrieved 2009-01-23. 
  4. Mail-Archive.com
  5. They Tried to Warn Us HistoryCommons.org
  6. TheNational.ae, "US and Jordan intelligence services pay the price of secrecy"

External links