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(U//FOUO) SID Around the World: A Country the Size of Maryland
FROM: SIGINT Communications
Unknown
Run Date: 06/26/2003
(U) What country is about the size of Maryland, has a hundred
breweries and is home to three languages? No, it's not
Switzerland. The answer: Belgium.
(U) So what are the three languages? French (spoken by the
Walloons in the southern half of the country), Flemish (a dialect of
Dutch-- spoken in the northern half), and a small area near the
German border where they speak... well, you know. (Plus,
Brussels, right in the middle, is bilingual.) When you mention
Belgium, people often give you a quizzical look. They don't have a
clear idea of what it's about. It's complicated!
(U) What's Belgium noted for? Well, for many people, food and
drink. The national dish is mussels and fries (pommes frites). You
know about the waffles. If you want to be popular, give someone
Belgian chocolates. And beer is the national drink (yes, even
among those who speak French). Belgian beers are unique-several varieties are brewed nowhere else in the world. A curiosity
is that Belgians often divide their beers into "good" and "evil". In
the former category you have Trappist ales (brewed by Trappist
monks) and beers named for numerous saints. In the latter, you
have such potions as "Piraat" (Pirate), and "Fin du Monde" (End of
the World).
(C) What is SID doing there in Belgium? Well, there are SID
representatives at NATO political headquarters in Brussels and at
NATO's military headquarters, based near Mons. (Some rue the
fact that years ago Charles De Gaulle had a falling out with NATO,
resulting in the HQ relocating from Paris in 1967.) In Mons, some
representatives work in an underground bunker. Administratively,
these people fall under NCEUR (NSA/CSS Europe, based in
Stuttgart, Germany).
(U) NATO, EU, Romance language, Germanic language... is
Belgium the cultural crossroads of Europe?
SERIES:
(U) SID Around the
World '03
1. Coming Soon: SID
Around the World!
2. SID Around the
World: Living High in
the Balkans
3. SID Around the
World: SIGINT from
Paradise (Okinawa)
4. SID Around the
World: A Country the
Size of Maryland
5. SID Around the
World: Life in the
Field
6. SID Around the
World: Washington,
D.C.
7. SID Around the
World: Peak
Conditions in Denver
8. SID Around the
World: The Rheinland
9. Spanning The
Globe...Misawa to
Menwith Hill: Part 1
10. Spanning The
Globe...Misawa to
Menwith Hill: Part 2
11. SID Around the
World: A TDY to
Guantanamo Bay
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108