NSA’s Oldest Third Party SIGINT Relationship

DYNAMIC PACE -- HIGHEST lS TOP SECRET ff Sl ff REL USA CAN CBR NZL (Li) NSA's Uldest Third Party Partnership FROM: Countly Desk Crfficer (CDD) Turkey Run Date: (Sf/Si] Crur "oldest" Third Patty partner is Tulkey, with whom we've had a relationship since 1949. That begs a question, since NSA wasn't created until November 1952. This alticle answers that question and sketches the [elationship between NSA and our two Tulkish panners. (Sf/Si] The Replesentative, Tulkey (NCR located in beautiful Ankara with a staff of about 40 NSAers, is lesponsible for ploviding technical assistance, engineeling advice, maintenance suppon, equipment, and tlaining to both of the Turkish olganizations: - the Cenelal Electtonic Selvice (CES), a military command under the JE intelligence Dilectolate of the Turkish Cenelal Staff and - the Electronic and Technical intelligence (ETI) Directolate, the element of the civilian Tulkish National intelligence Giganization (Sf/Si] Crur exchange with these panners includes information on a variety of regional militaly talgets and a significant amount of data on ten?orism talgets, to include intelnational groups and indigenous terlorist organizations such as the Ruldistan People's Congress (Rongra Clel/r KER, formerly known as the in return, CES plovides infolmation on Russian military forces, legional activity in the Caucasus, and- CES also identifies shipping tlaffic in the Daldanelles and collects radar signatules under the SEA SENTRY plogram. CBS and plovide language assistance on traffic; and

and NSA have a dedicated circuit for ET [Countertelrorisml analytic exchanges. Thloughout the Cold Wat: Turkey's location on the Black Sea affolded the US with unique access to the undelbelly of the Soviet beast. Turkey is now a committed paItnerboth in the Global 1 War on Terrorism and in peacekeeping and stabilization opelations throughout the region. Tulkey's bolders with llaq. ban and Syria haye obyious geopolitical significance for US militaIy planners and political strategists. in addition. ongoingjoint signals suryeys between NSA and have the potential to ployide unique access to emelging talgets of interest. in answer to the question begged above. the relationship did begin in 1949. but it was based on a yelbal agteement between CIA and with CIA offeling funding and equipment to in exchange for raw tlaffic. in 19?9. the proglam of suppoIt for was assumed by NSA and incoIporated into the Consolidated Program The legal basis forthe US relationship with EES stems flom aJune 1954 Joint Militaly Facilities Agleement that was further amplified in a 1962 MUD that committed the US to provide information. tlaining. equipment. and assistance in the development of a capability forlSES. NSA entered into this 1962 agteement with the TES in exchange for Tquish permission to opelate US sites on Turkish soil. NSA's oyert operations in Turkey ceased with the closing ofSinop in September 1993. SES continues to conduct coyelt collection flom sites in lstanbul and Ankara. Adana Mosque. on the Seyhan River in Adana. Turkey This alticle is repIinted from the Foreign Affails Digest. September edition. lnfolmation aner: