The Challenge Project was an insurgency plan orchestrated by the
Directorate of Special Operations, a branch of the
Iraqi Intelligence Service
:
The Iraqi Intelligence Service () also known as the Mukhabarat, General Intelligence Directorate, or Party Intelligence, was an 8,000-man agency and the main state intelligence organization in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The IIS was primarily co ...
. The Challenge Project was
Saddam Hussein's pre-US invasion (see
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
) backup plan for establishing a long-term insurgency designed to inhibit the American occupation of
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
.
On the eve of the US-led invasion of Iraq, Directorate 14. Special Operations was instructed to establish a network of intelligence agents who specialized in
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
. These agents were instructed to wait until the American military was fully entrenched in the occupation of Iraq before starting insurgent activities.
Sources
Duelfer: Iraqi Intel Trained Iraqis, Other Arabs at Salman Pak ''NYT''
Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)
{{Iraq-stub
Stay-behind organizations