  Summary of abstract: The existence of a new population of yet unrecognized
x-ray sources has been often suggested to resolve some pecularities in the
properties of the x-ray background (XRB), and has recently been indicated by an
analysis of resolved sources in deep ROSAT observations (Hasinger \etal 1993).
  We investigate the possibility that the indicated new population of x-ray
sources is Galactic in origin, and derive its properties which would resolve
the discrepancy found in the number counts of faint sources, and be consistent
with observational constraints on the total background intensity, the XRB
anisotropy, the number of unidentified bright sources, the Galaxy's total x-ray
luminosity, and with the results of fluctuation analyses of the unresolved XRB.
  We find that a flattened Galactic halo (or a thick disk) distribution with a
scale height of a few Kpc satisfies all the above requirements. The typical
x-ray luminosity of the sources is $\approx 10^{30-31}$ erg/s in the 0.5-2 KeV
band, the number density of sources in the Solar vicinity is $\sim 10^{-4.5}
pc^{-3}$, their total number in the Galaxy is $\sim 10^{8.5}$, and they
contribute $\sim 10^{39}$ erg/s to the Galaxy's total x-ray luminosity.
  We discuss the possible nature of these sources (subdwarfs, LMXBs, old
neutron stars), and argue that the inferred x-ray and optical luminosities of
the sources, their $\sim 2-4$ KeV spectrum, and the derived local number
density and spatial distribution are all consistent with them being intrinsicly
faint cataclysmic variables with low accretion rates. We discuss the possible
origin of such population, including an origin from disrupted globular clusters
or dark clusters, make predictions, and suggest observational tests.
