CIA trained 'Scorpions' to promote unrest

August 4, 2005

Before the Iraq war began, the CIA recruited and trained an Iraqi paramilitary group, code-named the Scorpions, to foment rebellion, conduct sabotage and help CIA paramilitaries, intelligence officials say.

The CIA spent millions of dollars on the Scorpions, whose existence has not been disclosed previously. They were even given former Soviet Hind helicopters. But most of the unit's pre-war missions were delayed or cancelled because of poor training or planning, said officials briefed on the unit. The speed of the invasion negated the need for most of their missions, others said.

After Baghdad fell, the CIA used the Scorpions to try to infiltrate the insurgency, to help during interrogations and, from time to time, to do "the dirty work", as one intelligence official put it.
In one case, members of the unit, wearing masks and carrying clubs and pipes, beat up an Iraqi general in the presence of CIA and military personnel, according to documents seen by The Washington Post and according to several defence and intelligence officials

Authorised by President George Bush in early 2002, the Scorpions — many exiles recruited by the Kurds — were part of a policy of "regime change" in Iraq. CIA control over the unit weakened as chaos grew in Iraq.

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