Ali Duba: 26 Years Running Syria's Most Feared Intelligence Agency

Ali Duba became head of Military Intelligence in 1974, consolidating one of the most powerful positions in the Syrian security state. The Military Intelligence Directorate (Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Askariyya) had parallel jurisdiction to both civilian intelligence and the police — it could arrest, detain, and interrogate virtually anyone. Under Duba, it was deeply involved in the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood insurgency culminating in the 1982 Hama massacre. Duba personally coordinated with Rifaat al-Assad's Defense Companies during the Hama operation. Military Intelligence also ran Syria's intelligence networks in Lebanon, including relationships with various Palestinian and Lebanese factions. The Lockerbie investigation pointed to Syrian Military Intelligence involvement in a series of bombings in Europe in the 1980s. In one documented case — the 1986 Hindawi affair — a Jordanian working for Syrian Military Intelligence was convicted of attempting to blow up an El Al flight from London.