Alain Chouet

Alain Chouet is a former senior officer of French intelligence agency, the DGSE.

I was the head of the DGSE's Security Intelligence Service (SRS). That is, of the entity within the Intelligence administration that was then charged with the monitoring of crime, espionage, proliferation and terrorism.... As a specialist in Arab language and culture, I devoted several years of my career to working on Arab terrorism and Islamist violence. Before directing the SRS, I had mainly worked 25 years on the ground in the Middle East and the Maghreb, and in Europe within the framework of a variety of missions.

9/11 Warning

Chouet has claimed that the French warned the US of an impending Al Qaeda attack on US interests in 2001:

With respect to what Western secret services (and we, in particular) had gathered, if it was clear that something major was in the works, not one of us had envisaged that it could happen on American territory itself.

On the one hand, our connections on the ground - in particular the FBI - assured us that their control over their own territory was absolute and flawless. Duly noted.

On the other hand, all the indications seemed to imply that the objective would be an American target in Europe or American airliners somewhere in the world. And I have to acknowledge that we were reinforced in this analysis by the disinformation operation very cunningly conducted by Khaled Sheikh Mohammed when he "delivered" Djamel Beghal to the Emirates. Khaled Sheikh Mohammed distrusted Beghal. That's why he gave him to us, all the while using him as a vector for disinformation, so that we would all concentrate on anti-American attacks in Europe.

Niger Uranium

Chouet has claimed that French intelligence told the CIA that there was no evidence that Iraq was sourcing uranium from Africa:

Chouet told the Times that his agency was contacted by the CIA in the summer of 2001 - shortly before the attacks of Sept. 11 - to check that uranium in Niger and elsewhere was secure. The former CIA official was quoted by the Times as confirming Chouet's account of this exchange.

Then twice in 2002, Chouet told the Times, the CIA contacted DGSE again for similar help. By mid-2002, Chouet recalled, the request was more urgent and more specific. The CIA was asking questions about a particular agreement purportedly signed by Niger officials to sell 500 metric tons of uranium to Iraq.

Chouet told the Times he had dispatched a five-or-six-man team to Niger to double-check any reports of a sale or an attempt to purchase uranium. The team found none, and Chouet said the CIA had been told this in Paris and the United States.

"We had the feeling that we had been heard," Chouet told the Times. "There was nothing more to say other than that."

Rocco Martino

Chouet has denied claims that the DGSE had a relationship with Rocco Martino prior to 2002:

"I'm laughing because these photos prove the opposite of what Sismi says. Let me explain. This photo proves:

"a. Sismi was shadowing Rocco Martino in the summer 2002, therefore they already knew who he was, what he was doing or what he was trying to do.

"b. Rocco Martino's 'contact' was Jaques Nadal. Well. Do you know when Jaques Nadal was posted to the Brussels station? I appointed him between April and May 2002. Therefore, if you want to claim that Nadal was Rocco's 'French contact', which is true according to the photo, the contact dates back to the summer 2002. Not before. (nor later, of course, in 2003, when all the world knew that those documents were a forgery and the meeting would have been meaningless). The photo, in short, proves the exact contrary of what it was meant to prove, that is that the French were behind Rocco."

Chirac Inquiry

Chouet was reportedly moved from his post in July 2002 amid reports that the DGSE had been investigating President Chirac's private life.

Two senior DGSE officers, Gilbert Flam, head of special investigations, and Alain Chouet, head of security intelligence, have been removed from their posts and moved elsewhere in the last week, and the agency's chief, Jean-Claude Cousseran, is widely expected to be sacked in the next few weeks.

Clearstream Affair

Chouet played a role in the Clearstream Affair:

In early May, plaintiff Alain Chouet, a former chief of the DGSE's intelligence and security service, told the investigating magistrates that France's intelligence services (DST, DGSE, and Customs) had investigated Clearstream back in 1996, eight years before the poison letter writer made his intrusion. Alerted by rumours, they concluded that the Luxembourg clearing house could possibly be used for money laundering operations, but without its knowledge.

External Resources

• Alain Chouet - Cooperative Research profile

Website

• Violence politique et sécurité dans le monde islamique - Accueil