 Between 1996 and 2003 Al-Shahwani continued building an opposition network in Iraq with the help of the CIA, and although a planned military uprising was vetoed by the Pentagaon, al-Shahwani used his influence to try and convince Iraqi security forces not to resist the American led invasion.He himself participated in covert American missions in western Iraq in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.After the initial invasion the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Paul Bremer, released Order 69, which established the charter for a new Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS).