Erich Mielke’s Last Gift The Legacy of the Stasi in the Middle East: From the German Democratic Republic to the Islamic State Saskia Pothoven 3987868 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. B.A. de Graaf MA Research Thesis International Relations in Historical Perspective 2 | Abstract [Page intentionally left blank] Erich Mielke’s Last Gift | 3 Abstract This thesis examines to what extent the way the Islamic State operates can be traced back to the intelligence relationship between the Stasi and the Ba’ath party in Iraq during the 1970s and 1980s. As an explorative research, it aims to map potential continuities between the Stasi and the Islamic State with regard to both the organizational structure of the Islamic State’s intelligence apparatus, as well as its operational techniques. In the first chapter, the ideological role of the Stasi within the GDR is examined. In the second chapter, materials from the Stasi archives are analysed to determine the extent of the intelligence relationship between the Stasi and the Ba’ath, and to see how this relationship has influenced the intelligence apparatus of the Ba’ath. In the third chapter, the intelligence apparatus of the Islamic State and its link with the Ba’ath are explored. In order to trace such continuities, a framework of different degrees of influence has been developed, which ranges from level 1 (low) to level 4 (high). There are several similarities, in organizational structure, as well as in the extent of surveillance of citizens, and the heavy use of informants, that indicate that the intelligence apparatus of the Islamic State has been indirectly influenced by the Stasi support to the Iraqi Ba’ath party. 4 | Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This thesis has been completed as part of a research internship at the Netherlands Defense Academy (NLDA), and marks the end of an intens period of research, during which I have learned a lot. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me to complete this thesis. Thanks to my friends, family, and collegues at the NLDA, who provided me with support, tips and feedback. Special thanks to my internship supervisor, Colonel Han Bouwmeester, for providing me with the opportunity to write my thesis at the NLDA, and to my thesis supervisor Professor Beatrice de Graaf, for her enthusiasm and guidance during this process. Erich Mielke’s Last Gift | 5 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF RELEVANT MFS BRANCHES .................................................................................................................. 8 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 9 HISTORIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................................. 10 METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE .............................................................................................................................. 12 Exploring continuities ................................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 1: SCHILD UND SCHWERT DER PARTEI ............................................................................................ 15 1945-1950: CREATION AND RELATIONSHIP WITH THE KGB .......................................................................................... 17 1950-1953: THE FIRST YEARS ................................................................................................................................ 18 1953-1961: THE BIRTH OF THE POLICE STATE ........................................................................................................... 19 The June 1953 Uprising ................................................................................................................................ 19 Consequences of the Uprising ...................................................................................................................... 20 De-Stalinization and Political-Ideological Subversion ................................................................................... 21 1961-1971: THE BERLIN WALL AND FURTHER EXPANSION OF THE POLICE STATE ............................................................. 22 1971-1989: THE HONECKER ERA ............................................................................................................................ 23 Foreign policy ............................................................................................................................................... 24 Domestic developments ............................................................................................................................... 24 The decline of the GDR ................................................................................................................................. 26 CONCLUDING REMARKS .......................................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 2: ‘FRATERNAL ASSISTANCE’ IN IRAQ .............................................................................................. 29 THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE GLOBAL COLD WAR ............................................................................................................ 29 Foreign policy of the GDR ............................................................................................................................. 30 THE MFS AND IRAQ ............................................................................................................................................... 31 The Rise of the Ba’ath Party ......................................................................................................................... 31 1969-1978: Intelligence relations between the GDR and Iraq ...................................................................... 34 Deterioration of the relationship .................................................................................................................. 39 1980s: Continuing requests by the Iraqis ..................................................................................................... 42 CONCLUDING REMARKS........................................................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER 3: THE ISLAMIC INTELLIGENCE STATE .............................................................................................. 47 A PRELIMINARY HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC STATE .......................................................................................................... 47 ORIGINS OF THE EMNI AND THE CAPTURE OF TERRITORY ............................................................................................... 49 The Capture of Raqqa and other territory in Syria ....................................................................................... 51 THE EMNI IN THE CALIPHATE .................................................................................................................................... 54 The Secret Police ........................................................................................................................................... 56 Foreign Intelligence ...................................................................................................................................... 57 External Operations ...................................................................................................................................... 58 CONCLUDING REMARKS........................................................................................................................................... 60 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................................. 61 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................... 65 6 | List of Abbreviations List of Abbreviations ASBP Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party AQC Al Qaeda Central AQI Al Qaeda in Iraq BStU Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (Stasi Records Agency) DGMI Directorate for General Military Intelligence DGS Directorate for General Security GDR German Democratic Republic FRG Federal Republic of Germany IIS Iraqi Intelligence Service IS Islamic State ISI Islamic State of Iraq ISIS Islamic State of Iraq and Syria JTJ Jamaat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad K-5 Kommisariat-5 KPdSU Kommunistische Partei der Sowjetunion (CPSU, Communist Party of the Soviet Union) Erich Mielke’s Last Gift | 7 MfS Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, Stasi (Ministry for State Security) MdI Ministerium des Innern (Ministry of the Interior) MGB Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti SSSR (Ministry for State Security) MSC Mujahideen Shura Council NKVD Narodnyi