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Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) (Pakistan)

Founded:    Established through Executive Order in 1948

Mission:      Although originally created primarily as a military intelligence organization, distinct from the individualized branches of military intelligence, ISI is today Pakistan's primary intelligence organization for external operations. As such, the types of intelligence operations carried out vary greatly between various forms of HUMINT and TECHINT, which may be executed by highly trained personnel and a budget estimated to be as much as $1 billion.

Structure:    Secretly headed by a military leader (Director General), and assisted by three Deputy Directors, the ISI is also divided into a number of divisions which act to facilitate action and information among the many intelligence entities outside of ISI and between ISI operations. Among these divisions include: (a) a Joint Signals Intelligence Board (JSIB), (b) a Joint Intelligence Bureau, and (c) a Joint Counter-Intelligence Bureau. Additionally a Special Wing of the ISI works to train intelligence officers within the Pakistani military and facilitates relations with foreign intelligence agencies.

Historical Note:    Following the attacks on 9/11, the ISI has gained a great deal of attention in part due to its assistance in the War on Terrorism, but also due to its part in the blowback phenomenon which resulted from the sale of weapons to Afghans during the Cold War. Blowback occurs when an covert action is taken with one intent in mind, but yields an unanticipated negative outcome. During the Cold War, the American CIA, provided and sold weapons to Afghan warlords fighting the Russians in Afghanistan., most notably rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), an excellent weapon for taking down aircraft without requiring any particularly specialized skill. But in providing training and weapons to the Afghan warlords, the CIA tasked the ISI with determining many of the details of who recieves the weapons and training. ISI then chose to provide many Jihadists with the training and funding, finding them easiest to work with and often most comptabile with their own belief system. As the Cold War came to a close and the Soviety left Afghanistan, some of the Jihadists trained and armed by the ISI, on behalf of the CIA, turned against American interests and provided safe-haven for terrorist networks to expand regionally. Although it is not believed that the United States provided direct support to the Jihadists, the mistake of tasking the allocation to a third party increased the risk for possible blowback. It is not believed that a substantial number of the weapons sent to Afghanistan have in fact been used against the United States, it is known that the Al Qaeda network did consider their use against American helicopters in Mogadishu, Somalia.