South African Secret Service
Encyclopedia
The South African Secret Service (SASS) is a South Africa
n intelligence agency
. It is responsible for all non-military foreign intelligence
and for counterintelligence
within the Service itself. It is also responsible for gathering, correlating, evaluating and analyzing this intelligence. The Service is run by a Director-General, who is also a member of the National Intelligence Co-Ordinating Committee
(NICOC), to which he reports. The service performs intelligence at the request of the President
and the Minister of State Security.
n first multiracial elections. It was created to take over the foreign intelligence functions of the now-defunct National Intelligence Service
(NIS), with the domestic intelligence responsibilities taken up by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Both the SASS and NIA were created as part of the Intelligence Act of 1994.
and similar groups abroad in relation to South Africa's security, and the activities of illegal South Africa
n mercenaries, most especially in parts of Africa
and Iraq
.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
. It is responsible for all non-military foreign intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
and for counterintelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
within the Service itself. It is also responsible for gathering, correlating, evaluating and analyzing this intelligence. The Service is run by a Director-General, who is also a member of the National Intelligence Co-Ordinating Committee
National Intelligence Co-Ordinating Committee
The National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee is the organisation responsible for co-ordinating the actions and activities of all of South African intelligence agencies, and collating the intelligence information received from them...
(NICOC), to which he reports. The service performs intelligence at the request of the President
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
and the Minister of State Security.
History
The SASS was formed in 1995 following South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n first multiracial elections. It was created to take over the foreign intelligence functions of the now-defunct National Intelligence Service
National Intelligence Service (South Africa)
The National Intelligence Service was an intelligence agency of the Republic of South Africa that took over from the older South African Bureau of State Security in 1980. Associated with the Apartheid Era in South Africa, it was replaced by the South African Secret Service and the National...
(NIS), with the domestic intelligence responsibilities taken up by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Both the SASS and NIA were created as part of the Intelligence Act of 1994.
Current status
Unsurprisingly, the Service is extremely secretive about its operations, and thus few details reach the public. However, when taking current South African policy and concerns into account, it appears the attentions of the SASS are currently focused on two main areas: The activities of Al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and similar groups abroad in relation to South Africa's security, and the activities of illegal South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n mercenaries, most especially in parts of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
See also
- National Intelligence Co-Ordinating CommitteeNational Intelligence Co-Ordinating CommitteeThe National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee is the organisation responsible for co-ordinating the actions and activities of all of South African intelligence agencies, and collating the intelligence information received from them...
- National Intelligence Agency (South Africa)