Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Iraqi Shiites want own spy agency

|
|
 
  
Published: May 16, 2007 at 11:05 AM

BAGHDAD, May 16 (UPI) -- A bid by Iraq's Shiite-controlled government to form a parallel intelligence agency to one established by the United States has raised concerns in Washington.

Soon after toppling Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated Baath government, U.S. officials helped Iraqis rebuild an entirely new military and government. The existing National Intelligence Service is run by Gen. Mohammed Shahwani, a Sunni Muslim with ties to the U.S. military, but U.S. officials fear it could be compromised by a separate Shiite agency, USA Today correspondents in Baghdad and Washington reported.

Among Washington's concerns is their suspicion Iran is helping train and supply Shiite insurgents and could misuse a Shiite intelligence agency, with which Shahwani agrees, the report said.

"We believe that all the security forces have to be neutral," he said. "They all have to work for the government, without any religious or party influence."

Topics: Sunni Muslim
© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade The making of the Oscars
The Chicago Auto Show The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Tu Bishvat Migron settlement
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 25
Meryl Streep and Colin Firth attend the "BAFTA" ceremony in London
View Caption
fark
You're a K-9 cop out on a call and have to send your dog to take down a robber who is in the country...
Why will Whitney Houston's toxicology reports take weeks? Coroner's office: Because this ain't CSI...
Eight surefire ways to get dumped on Valentine's Day
Not many companies can claim that their net domain address clearly explains what it is that the...
"Any self-important, self-propagating elitist, I will happily bare my buttocks to"
You don't have to be too smart to coach high school sports. Just smart enough to not post nude photos...