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Saddam Husseins Loyalists Infiltrated U.S. Operations in Iraq
By Martha Raddatz
Dec. 18 Agents for deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein have penetrated the U.S. command in Iraq, ABCNEWS has learned. As a result, they have the potential to undermine U.S. authority.
Among the documents found in Saddam's briefcase when he was captured last weekend was a list of names of Iraqis who have been working with the United States either in the Iraqi security forces or the Coalition Provisional Authority and are feeding information to the insurgents, a U.S. official told ABCNEWS.
"We were badly infiltrated," said the official, adding that finding the list of names is a "gold mine."
The United States has been rapidly recruiting Iraqis to take over security in the war-torn nation. Some 162,000 Iraqis have been trained in the areas of civil defense, police and other security activities since May.
On a recent trip to Baghdad, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was told by the commander of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division that every two or three weeks the military discovers someone who should not have made it through the vetting process.
William Rosenau, who once served in the Pentagon's Office of Special Operations, says the spies could have caused great harm.
"They could conceivably disrupt operations directed against you. They can throw sand in the gears, they can spread disinformation," said Rosenau. "They are going to be able to tell you what those forces are trying to do, what their equipment is like, what their tactics are going to be and so on."
With the attacks continuing in Iraq, the U.S. military can now use the list to seek out the infiltrators and, officials hope, stop some of the damage they may be causing.
Pentagon officials with whom ABCNEWS spoke were not surprised about the infiltration. It is a common tactic that certainly happened in Vietnam, they said. But what they continue to worry about are infiltrators whose names are not on the list.
By Martha Raddatz
Dec. 18 Agents for deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein have penetrated the U.S. command in Iraq, ABCNEWS has learned. As a result, they have the potential to undermine U.S. authority.
Among the documents found in Saddam's briefcase when he was captured last weekend was a list of names of Iraqis who have been working with the United States either in the Iraqi security forces or the Coalition Provisional Authority and are feeding information to the insurgents, a U.S. official told ABCNEWS.
"We were badly infiltrated," said the official, adding that finding the list of names is a "gold mine."
The United States has been rapidly recruiting Iraqis to take over security in the war-torn nation. Some 162,000 Iraqis have been trained in the areas of civil defense, police and other security activities since May.
On a recent trip to Baghdad, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was told by the commander of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division that every two or three weeks the military discovers someone who should not have made it through the vetting process.
William Rosenau, who once served in the Pentagon's Office of Special Operations, says the spies could have caused great harm.
"They could conceivably disrupt operations directed against you. They can throw sand in the gears, they can spread disinformation," said Rosenau. "They are going to be able to tell you what those forces are trying to do, what their equipment is like, what their tactics are going to be and so on."
With the attacks continuing in Iraq, the U.S. military can now use the list to seek out the infiltrators and, officials hope, stop some of the damage they may be causing.
Pentagon officials with whom ABCNEWS spoke were not surprised about the infiltration. It is a common tactic that certainly happened in Vietnam, they said. But what they continue to worry about are infiltrators whose names are not on the list.
