Military Information Services
| Wojskowe Służby Informacyjne | |
Emblem of the Military Information Services
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1991 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Dissolved | October 2006 |
| Superseding agency |
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| Type | Intelligence |
| Jurisdiction | Polish Armed Forces |
| Parent department | Ministry of Defense |
Military Information Services (Wojskowe Służby Informacyjne, or WSI) was a common name for the Polish military intelligence and counter-intelligence agency. The agency was created in 1990 after the Revolutions of 1989 ended the Communist regime as a merger between the former Communist agencies Internal Military Service (Wojskowa Służba Wewnętrzna, or WSW) and the Second Directorate of General Staff of the Polish Army. The combined agency was originally known as the Second Directorate for Intelligence and Counter-intelligence (Zarząd II Wywiadu i Kontrwywiadu); it was renamed to WSI in 1991. At first, all commanding and upper-level officers—and most of the employees—had direct personal and career links with the former Communist regimes of Poland and the Soviet Union.
By a vote of 375 - 48 in favor, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland voted in May 2006 to liquidate WSI in October 2006. Polish President Bronisław Komorowski (at that time as deputy) voted against.
In 1990, the Second Directorate of General Staff of the Polish Army was joined with military counter-intelligence to form the WSW. That merger combined the intelligence and counter-intelligence agencies under one structure, the Second Directorate for Intelligence and Counter-intelligence. In 1991, the Second Directorate was transformed into the WSI. WSI was responsible for military counter-intelligence and security activities in Poland.
WSI was bound by law to shield vital state information for the newly independent Poland, under the direct control and management of the Ministry of Defense (Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej). WSI was also intended to be Poland's liaison with the intelligence services of other NATO countries.
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