Operation Simoom

Operation Simoom (Polish: Operacja Samum) was an operation of the Polish secret service in Iraq in 1990. The term Simoom for the name of the operation is the English name of a desert storm.

In 1990 the CIA asked allied intelligence services in Europe whether they would help it smuggle out six CIA and DIA agents hiding in Iraq to spy on the movements of Iraqi troops before the Iraq war and after the invasion Iraqi troops in Kuwait were cut off. Great Britain , France and Russia canceled their support, only Poland was ready to help.

Numerous Polish construction companies had branches in Iraq. The Polish secret service sent its agents to Iraq disguised as employees of one of the companies. After contact with the American agents was established, they were given Polish passports and escorted from Baghdad to Turkey by their Polish colleagues . The Polish agents not only saved their American colleagues, but also brought important photos and maps showing Iraqi positions to safety.

As a thank you, the US government promised to repay half of Poland's foreign debts.

credentials

• John Pomfret, Polish Agents Rescued 6 US Spies From Iraq - Scotch Lubricated Escape During Gulf War , The Washington Post , January 17, 1995
• During Gulf War, Polish Agents Saved 6 American Spies , The New York Times , January 18, 1995
• John Pomfret, "Cloak and Dagger and Johnnie Walker Red," Washington Post National Weekly Edition, Nov. 23-29. January 1995, 15-16. Summary