The History and Functions of Israel's Mossad Intelligence Agency

Mossad, Israel's foremost intelligence agency is an abbreviation for the Hebrew name ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim. Established in 1951 in the backdrop of severe Arab-Israeli hostilities, Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion wanted it "to learn well how to recognize what is going on around".

Mossad has its headquarters at Tel Aviv. It has many departments. The Collection Department carries out both official and covert espionage operations. The Political Action and Liaison Department handles the political liaisons with both friendly and hostile countries. The Metsada or the Special Operations Division executes sabotage and assassination missions. Lohamah Psichologit or the LAP Department is in charge of propaganda and psychological warfare. The Research Department with its sections receives daily, weekly, and monthly reports from the various parts of the world. The use of sophisticated technology to support their operations is the work of the Technology Department.

Mossad can boast of some remarkable successes. The Mossad captured Nazi leader Adolph Eichmann, who was responsible for the death of millions of Jews during World War II. Mossad provided Israeli military with intelligence reports, which proved very crucial in the 1967 conflict. Mossad enabled Israel to acquire Mig-21 aircraft by helping an Iraqi airman to defect. It also assisted in nullifying an embargo placed on missile boats by the French government, by capturing eight of them. The most famous of its successes was the 90-minute operation to rescue the 97 passengers of the hijacked plane in the Ugandan capital of Entebbe. The 1980s saw many air strikes against the PLO head quarters in Tunisia. As part of their plan to undermine the strength and morale of the Palestinians, Mossad planned the successful assassination of Abu Jihad, a close aide of PLO chief Yasser Arafat.

However, not all of Mossad's operations were successful. In 1972, Israeli athletes were massacred at the Munich Olympics. Mossad came under severe criticism for its intelligence failure. Consequently, a core team called the Wrath of God (WOG) tracked down members of the Black September, a Palestinian terrorist outfit responsible for the Munich Massacre, and killed many of them. Mossad's role in the Iran-Contra affair was a source of embarrassment too. In 1995, the Israeli Prime Minister was assassinated and Mossad was held responsible for the intelligence lapse.

Clearly, the Mossad is not a defensive organization nor does it restrict it self to means that are moral. Espionage, assassinations, abductions, bombings, retaliatory actions, illegal confiscation of territory and weapons, facilitating entry of persons into another country by fraudulent passports, Mossad like the CIA, stops at nothing.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossad for further reading.