Operation Simoom Simoon means a desert wind. Note that this name was used in the movie Operacja Samum, but there are no references it was the actual name of the operation. () was a top secret Polish

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

operation conducted in

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 ...

in 1990. In 1990 the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

asked

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an intelligence agencies to assist in the withdrawal of six American operatives (a mix of

and DIA officers) investigating Iraqi troops movements in Iraq before the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. Several countries, such as the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

refused to help in such a dangerous operation; only Poland agreed to help. Poland had connections in Iraq due to Polish engineering firms' construction work throughout the country and sent a few operatives to start working on the operation. Reprint of article from Warsaw Voice
The Warsaw Voice, 23. 5. 1999 became the commander of this operation, assigned to it by Polish Minister of Internal Affairs and first chief of

Urząd Ochrony Państwa The Office of State Protection ( Polish: ''Urząd Ochrony Państwa'' (, UOP)Krzysztof Kozłowski. Czempiński had previously been a spy in the United States and either took part or led many operations against the Western intelligence services. The main plan was to reestablish contact with the hiding American spies and give them Polish

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

s so they could escape from Iraq in a bus, alongside Polish and Russian workers. The six agents were hiding in Kuwait and Baghdad for several weeks before the escape was carried out. The operation was very difficult because the Iraqis started to suspect some kind of American-Polish intrigue. The agents were given refuge at a Polish construction camp, and then provided with passports and put on a refugee bus. An Iraqi officer at checkpoint on the border had studied in Poland and spoke Polish well enough to communicate. When the bus arrived at the border, he asked one of the American spies a question in Polish. Since the spy did not know Polish at all, he pretended to be heavily drunk (another version states that the operative in question fainted). Nevertheless, the bus managed to cross the border with all occupants. Poles moved the agents out of Iraq and into the safety of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Operatives from both sides returned to their countries. Polish forces rescued not only the agents but also secret maps—detailed maps of various military installations and of crucial points in the capital of Baghdad itself—apparently crucial for

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. As a reward for Poland's help, the US government promised to urge other governments to cancel half, or $16.5 billion, of Poland's foreign debt. In at least two other operations, the Poles later aided another 15 foreigners to escape, mostly Britons, held hostage by the Iraqis as part of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

's " human shield" campaign to deter an allied invasion. Information about this operation was first revealed in 1995 by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. In 1999, Polish director

Władysław Pasikowski Władysław Pasikowski (; born 14 June 1959 in Łódź, Poland) is a Polish film director and screenwriter. He made his debut film, Kroll, in 1991, which was honored with the Polish Film Festival prize for his debut and the Special Jury Prize. P ...

made a movie, '' Operacja Samum'' about this operation; it was the first Polish production co-financed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and third by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simoom, Operation 1990 in military history 1990 in Iraq 1990 in Poland Simoon History of Poland (1989–present) 20th-century military history of Poland Poland–United States military relations Battles and conflicts without fatalities 1990s in Baghdad Iraq–Poland military relations Ba'athist Iraq

Notes

Further reading

External links