Iraqi ‘secret plan’ orders mayhem

KUWAIT CITY — A document from the Iraqi intelligence service in Basra — which was captured in April as coalition forces gained control — orders agents to start campaigns of sabotage, looting and murder should Iraq lose the war.

The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, also orders intelligence agents to infiltrate political parties and religious institutions, should the Saddam Hussein regime be toppled.

The document, stamped “Extremely Confidential,” described itself as an “Emergency Secret Plan” and is signed, unintelligibly, by “The Head of General Intelligence”.

It comprises just one page on official letterhead and uses the terse style typical of other captured security documents.

The Arabic-language document is noteworthy because it tracks closely with the chaos that has since descended on Iraq, with daily ambushes of U.S. soldiers and mass anti-American demonstrations by Muslim groups.

In the past two weeks, at least seven American soldiers have been killed and dozens wounded in ambushes by Saddam loyalists.

Security on the streets of Baghdad is described as nonexistent, with people cowering in their homes, armed with AK-47 rifles, fearing marauding bands of thugs and looters.

The document first fell into the hands of a leading Iraqi religious movement after its members, along with other Iraqis, ransacked Basra’s intelligence headquarters.

Although British troops expelled forces loyal to Saddam early in April, the document was given to coalition forces only a few days ago, a British-based aid worker said.

The document begins: “Please take the following measures in case of the fall of the Iraqi Leadership by the American-British-Zionist coalition, God forbid.”

It then lists 11 measures. At the top is “looting and setting alight of all government offices.”

It urges the destruction “in particular” of intelligence and military security buildings.

It also urges that its operatives “cause damage” to electrical power facilities and water plants, and “cut internal and international communications.”

In addition, it orders its agents to “assassinate religious scholars and preachers from the mosques and places of prayer.”

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