# Operation Simoom > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Operation_Simoom > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Operation_Simoom.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Simoom > Source revision: 1258878892 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Polish intelligence operation Operation Simoom Date Mid-1990 Location Iraq Result Polish operatives successfully liberated American spies Belligerents Poland United States Iraq Commanders and leaders Gromosław Czempiński [pl] Saddam Hussein Strength Unknown Polish spies 6 American spies (mix CIA and DIA) Unknown Republican Guards Casualties and losses None, successfully escaped without raising any suspicion None **Operation Simoom**[1] ([Polish](/source/Polish_language): *Operacja Samum*) was a top secret [Polish](/source/Poland) [intelligence](/source/Intelligence_(information_gathering)) operation conducted in [Iraq](/source/Iraq) in 1990. In 1990 the [CIA](/source/CIA) asked [European](/source/Europe) intelligence agencies to assist in the withdrawal of six [American](/source/United_States) operatives (a mix of [CIA](/source/CIA) and [DIA](/source/Defense_Intelligence_Agency) officers) investigating Iraqi troops movements in Iraq before the [Gulf War](/source/Gulf_War).[2] Several countries, such as the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union), [Great Britain](/source/Great_Britain), and [France](/source/France) refused to help in such a dangerous operation; only Poland agreed to help.[2] Poland had connections in Iraq due to Polish engineering firms' construction work throughout the country[2] and sent a few operatives to start working on the operation. [Gromosław Czempiński](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gromos%C5%82aw_Czempi%C5%84ski&action=edit&redlink=1) [[pl](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gromos%C5%82aw_Czempi%C5%84ski)][3] became the commander of this operation, assigned to it by [Polish Minister of Internal Affairs](/source/Polish_Minister_of_Internal_Affairs) and first chief of [Urząd Ochrony Państwa](/source/Urz%C4%85d_Ochrony_Pa%C5%84stwa), [Krzysztof Kozłowski](/source/Krzysztof_Koz%C5%82owski).[2] Czempiński had previously been a [spy](/source/Spy) in the United States and either took part or led many operations against the Western intelligence services.[2] The main plan was to reestablish contact with the hiding American spies and give them Polish [passports](/source/Passport) 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.[2] The operation was very difficult because the Iraqis started to suspect some kind of American-Polish intrigue.[2] 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.[2] Poles moved the agents out of Iraq and into the safety of [Turkey](/source/Turkey).[2] 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](/source/Operation_Desert_Storm).[2][3] 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.[4] 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](/source/Saddam_Hussein)'s "[human shield](/source/Human_shield)" campaign to deter an allied invasion.[2] Information about this operation was first revealed in 1995 by *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*.[3][4] In 1999, Polish director [Władysław Pasikowski](/source/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Pasikowski) made a movie, *[Operacja Samum](/source/Operacja_Samum)* about this operation; it was the first Polish production co-financed by [Warner Bros.](/source/Warner_Bros.) and third by [HBO](/source/HBO).[3] ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-name_1-0)** [Simoon](/source/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. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-WP_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-WP_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-WP_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-WP_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-WP_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-WP_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-WP_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-WP_2-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-WP_2-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-WP_2-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-WP_2-10) Pomfret, John (January 17, 1995). ["POLISH AGENTS RESCUED 6 U.S. SPIES FROM IRAQ"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/01/17/polish-agents-rescued-6-us-spies-from-iraq/e31165d3-e6e5-4cf1-babc-763a06e463a2/). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0190-8286](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8286). Retrieved March 10, 2023. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-WV_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-WV_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-WV_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-WV_3-3) [Reprint of article from Warsaw Voice](http://campcatatonia.org/article/1179/operation-samum), The Warsaw Voice, 23. 5. 1999 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NYT_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NYT_4-1) ["During Gulf War, Polish Agents Saved 6 American Spies"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210505224430/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/18/world/during-gulf-war-polish-agents-saved-6-american-spies.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. January 18, 1995. p. 4. Archived from [the original](https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/18/world/during-gulf-war-polish-agents-saved-6-american-spies.html) on May 5, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2023. ## Further reading - John Pomfret, "Cloak and Dagger and Johnnie Walker Red", Washington Post National Weekly Edition, 23–29 January 1995, 15–16. [summarized here](http://intellit.muskingum.edu/othercountries_folder/poland_folder/polandpostcw.html) ## External links - [Operacja Samum (Western Iraq 1990)](https://web.archive.org/web/20071113161018/http://www.blease.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/WG.scudbusters.scn.samum.html) v t e Gulf War Conflict timeline Disarmament timeline Participants Australia Women Background Iran–Iraq War Operation Simoom Ba'athist Iraq Petroleum industry in Iraq Invasion of Kuwait Battle of Dasman Palace Battle of the Bridges Battle of Failaka UNSCRs on Iraq 660 661 662 664 665 666 667 669 670 674 677 678 Arab League summit August 12 Initiative Coalition intervention Coalition 1991 Iraq AUMF Iraq–United States relations Carter Doctrine Military equipment Battles Khafji Wadi al-Batin Al Busayyah 67 Easting 73 Easting Phase Line Bullet Medina Ridge 2nd Kuwait Highway of Death Jalibah Norfolk Kuwait International Airport Rumaila Safwan Air campaign Air engagements "Package Q" air strike Operation Instant Thunder Operation Senior Surprise Amiriyah shelter bombing Samurra Spillover Iraqi strikes on Israel Iraqi strikes on Saudi Arabia Aftermath United Nations Iraq–Kuwait Observation Mission UNSCRs on Iraq 686 687 689 692 773 806 833 949 1490 Operation Southern Watch Iraq sanctions Kuwaiti oil fires 1991 uprisings Draining of the marshes Gulf War oil spill Depleted uranium Gulf War syndrome Awards Operation Provide Comfort Iraq–Kuwait barrier Memorials London Military technology History of the M1 Abrams Lion of Babylon (tank) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Operation Simoom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Simoom) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Simoom?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.