Presidential Security Service (Arab Union)

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The Presidential Security Service (Arabic: خدمة الأمن الرئاسي khidmat al-amn ar-ri’āsī) is an armed, plainclothes and civilian law enforcement and security agency attached to the Executive Office of the President of the Arab Union. Its responsibility is the protection of the person of the President of the Arab Union and his immediate family, providing bodyguards and extended security details for the President at the Presidential Palace and wherever else the President and/or his immediate family may attend in person; it is the civilian component of the armed units responsible for the President's protection, its military counterpart being the Republican Guard. The service works to protect the President not only via reaction to real or perceived threats, but also by a pragmatic intelligence-gathering and venue-securing process to prepare for and thwart any and all potential threats to the President's security. The Presidential Security Service has an estimated 1500 personnel, including bodyguards, snipers, bomb disposal technicians, intelligence analysts and cybersecurity experts, many of whom are former agents of the Joint Security Committee (Emni).

Organisation[edit | edit source]

  • Personal Protection Directorate: The security details and bodyguards who operate within the immediate vicinity of the President and accompany him on all official and unofficial travel;
  • Tactical Protection Directorate: Responsible for securing all venues hosting the President, including the Presidential Palace and other public and private appearances, protecting the President from all angles using snipers and other highly-trained armed agents;
  • Cybersecurity Directorate: Responsible for protecting the security of the President in all electronic and/or virtual communications;
  • Domestic Protection Directorate: Responsible for providing bodyguards and security details for the immediate family of the President, which operate independently of the President's own movements;
  • Transportation Directorate: Operates and maintains all modes of transportation for the President, including motorcades, helicopters, boats and armoured vehicles when necessary, except for the presidential jet, which is operated by the Air Force;
  • Counterintelligence Directorate: Responsible for disseminating misleading information regarding the President's plans and whereabouts so as to mislead potential hostile actors, as well as developing and deploying body doubles of the President and First Lady.