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Today from RFE/RL : RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE WORKING OVERTIME IN BAGHDAD ... Agents of the Foreign Intelligence Service and Russian military intelligence (GRU) are meeting daily with high-ranking members of President Saddam Hussein's intelligence agencies to discuss the developing situation in Iraq, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 27 March. It reported that two Zaslon (shield) special-purpose SVR detachments have been sent to Iraq, and noted that the security of Russian diplomatic missions is the responsibility of the Federal Border Guard Service, which was recently merged into the Federal Security Service. ...AS HUNT FOR HUSSEIN'S ARCHIVES STARTS. "Nezavisimaya gazeta" speculates that the Russian intelligence stations in Baghdad have been ordered to evacuate the archives of the Iraqi secret services to Russia prior to the fall of Hussein's regime. The topic might have been discussed last month when Hussein met with former Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov, who is also a former SVR head the paper commented. If Moscow is able to acquire Hussein's secret-service archives, it will gain access to the Iraqi intelligence network and thereby get control of a crucial lever of influence in postwar Iraq. Moreover, these archives might contain information about possible weapons of mass destruction. However, the newspaper notes that experts believe Hussein would have ordered such documents destroyed when it became clear that the U.S.-led coalition would attack. According to the paper, the CIA and Britain's MI-6, which are already active in Iraq, are also bent on acquiring these records. However, while Western agents are working secretly and in a hostile environment, Russian intelligence agents have the advantage of working more or less openly from the Russian Embassy, the daily noted. It is possible that the archives could end up at the embassy, which is protected by extraterritoriality, the newspaper concluded. _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk