SECRECY NEWS is an email publication of
the Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
Project on Government Secrecy. It provides
informal coverage of new developments in secrecy,
security and intelligence policies, as well
as links to new acquisitions on the Federation
of American Scientists web site. It
is published 2 to 3 times a week, or as events
warrant. Secrecy
News Article Index
ESTABLISHING THE IRAQI NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), whatever its
provenance and powers may be, authorized the Iraqi Governing
Council earlier this month to establish a new Iraqi
intelligence service.
The function of the new Iraqi National Intelligence Service
(INIS) is "to collect, analyze, and disseminate accurate and
timely information related to the national defense and other
threats to the security of Iraq."
"The INIS will be a wholly distinct and separate entity from
any intelligence services that have previously existed in
Iraq," according to CPA Order 69, issued in April 2004.
The Charter of the new Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS)
may
be found here (9 pages, 700 KB PDF file).
THE MYSTERY OF THE COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) is the entity led
by Amb. Paul Bremer that is responsible for managing and
overseeing the reconstruction of Iraq.
But what species of organization is the CPA? And how exactly
was it established? These are mysteries.
"It is unclear whether CPA is a federal agency," according to
a new report from the Congressional Research Service that is
the bureaucratic equivalent of a "thriller."
"No explicit, unambiguous, and authoritative statement has
been provided that declares how the authority was
established, under what authority, and by whom."
Clarification of the CPA's nature and status "will remain relevant
even after CPA's scheduled dissolution on June 30, 2004, for questions
may remain about what it did, how it spent money, and what it accomplished."
The new CRS report probes the matter in wonkish depth over 38
pages later but without a clear resolution. A copy of the
report was obtained by Secrecy News.
