The role of intelligence was recognized by King
Abdulaziz Al Saud who had used it in his
unification of Saudi Arabia. His interest in modern communication increasingly grew when he set up the first radio communications system in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom started the intelligence service in 1955 under the name of
Al-Mabahith Al Aammah. During the reign of King
Saud bin Abdulaziz, the General Intelligence was separated from the
Mabahith (General Investigation Directorate). Intelligence was established as an independent security service with the issuing of the Royal Decree 11 in 1957 that ordered the setting up of a special department under the title of
Maslahat Al-Istikhbarat Al-Aammah or (General Intelligence Department). During this period two branches of the Presidency were set up locally, the western branch in
Jeddah, and eastern one in
Dhahran. The GIP's charter was changed by King
Khaled bin Abdulaziz in 1982, by Royal Decree M-5, dated 19 December 1982, which set out its responsibilities, duties, and the limits of its activities. This established the internal organization of the agency with a General Department for Operations, the General Department for Administration and Finance, the General Department for Training and Planning, and the General Department for Technical Affairs. Along with the National Research Center, and the Center for Media and International Communications (previously Center for Translation and Media).
Safari Club The
Safari Club was an alliance of intelligence services formed in 1976 that ran covert operations around
Africa at a time when the
United States Congress had clipped the
CIA's wings over years of
abuses. Its formal members were
Iran,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Morocco, and
France. The group maintained informal connections with the
United States. The group executed a successful military intervention in
Zaire in response to an
invasion from Angola. It also provided arms to
Somalia in its
1977–1978 conflict with Ethiopia. It organized secret diplomacy relating to anti-communism in Africa, and has been credited with initiating the process resulting in the 1979
Egypt–Israel peace treaty.
Soviet Afghan War and Afghan Civil Wars The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years, from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups known collectively as the
mujahideen, as well as smaller
Maoist groups, fought a
guerrilla war against the
Soviet Army and the
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government, mostly in the rural countryside. The mujahideen groups were backed primarily by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, making it a
Cold War proxy war. Saudi Arabia would continue to support certain factions of the Mujahedeen against the
Afghan government of
Mohammad Najibullah following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from the country.
Iran-Contra affair Cargo planes bomb plot On 29 October 2010, two packages, each containing a bomb consisting of of
plastic explosives and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia's security chief. They were bound from
Yemen to the United States, and were discovered at en route stop-overs, one at
East Midlands Airport in the UK and one in
Dubai in the
United Arab Emirates. One week later,
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took responsibility for the plot, and for the crash of
UPS Airlines Flight 6. American and British authorities believed
Anwar al-Awlaki of AQAP was behind the bombing attempts, and that the bombs were most likely constructed by AQAP's main explosives expert,
Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. The bombs were probably designed to detonate mid-air, with the intention of destroying both planes over Chicago or another city in the U.S. Each bomb had already been transported on passenger and
cargo planes at the time of discovery.
Syrian Civil War Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Syrian War involved the large-scale supply of
weapons and
ammunition to various rebel groups in
Syria during the
Syrian civil war. The
Financial Times reported in May 2013 that
Qatar was becoming a larger provider of arms to the various groups. In the summer of 2013 Saudi Arabia emerged as the main group financing and arming the rebels. Saudi Arabia financed a large purchase of infantry weapons, such as Yugoslav-made recoilless guns and the
M79 Osa, an anti-tank weapon, from
Croatia via shipments shuttled through
Jordan. The weapons began reaching rebels in December 2012 which allowed rebels' small tactical gains against the Syrian army. In August 2017, the Syrian opposition was informed by the Saudi foreign minister that the Kingdom was disengaging from them. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia has taken a more conciliatory stance towards the Syrian government.
Timber Sycamore Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supported by Arab intelligence services, including the security service in Saudi Arabia. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied money, weaponry and training to rebel forces fighting Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad in the
Syrian civil war. According to US officials, the program trained thousands of rebels. ==Leadership==