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(S) Where's the Beef? SIGINT for the Department of Agriculture
FROM:
and
Washington Liaison Office (WLO) (S112)
Run Date: 11/01/2004
SIGINT supports negotiations, helps keep food supply safe (S)
(S) You may not think that the Department of Agriculture would have much interaction with SID,
but in fact SIGINT is a huge contributor to Agriculture's mission.
(TS//SI) The USDA is involved in trade operations to protect and secure a large segment of the
U.S economy. The Secretary of Agriculture, the Deputy, the Undersecretaries, and other subcabinet members who are briefed by the WLO Rep on a weekly basis often rely on SIGINT to
support their negotiations, and not just to address U.S farming issues, but international trade
issues as well. The leadership team at Agriculture makes routine negotiation decisions and
recommendations to their "chain of command" based on SIGINT.
(TS//SI) As you can imagine, not many people within USDA are TS/SCI cleared. However, with
our tear-line reporting and write-to-release we can still support USDA leaders. Most recently
WLO Rep
briefed the Secretary of Agriculture on key trade issues. Several
reports dealt with trade matters that a Deputy Undersecretary was currently negotiating. Having
previously checked with USDA security on the Deputy Undersecretary's clearances, the liaison
officer knew that he was not cleared for SIGINT.
(TS//SI) The Secretary became very concerned that the Deputy Undersecretary would not have
access to the information, which she considered critical to a successful meeting. One of the
Undersecretaries at the briefing jumped in and stated that, "NSA does a very clever thing, they
report at the 'secret' level too," and pointed out that the Deputy Undersecretary had already
seen the reporting. The Secretary was very relieved, turned to the NSA Rep, and stated, "That is
very helpful that you (NSA) do that."
(S//SI) NSA has a substantial and proven record in protecting US trade interests and keeping
the US food supply safe by providing relevant information to Agriculture. The WLO has
established a unique rapport with sub-cabinet members at Agriculture. This relationship allows
WLO representatives to attend weekly USDA briefings to ensure NSA is aware of trade issues
and upcoming meetings. Additionally, the WLO has access to the Secretary's and other USDA
leadership members' calendars to help stay on top of hot issues. The WLO communicates this
information to the TOPI's, whose response is nothing short of spectacular.
(TS//SI) Our Canadian partners, as well, deserve credit for their role in the WLO's support to
Agriculture. While searching through MAUI*, the WLO often finds CSE reporting on topics of
interest to USDA leaders. Through special arrangements with our Canadian partners, USDA now
regularly receives this vital and much valued reporting.
(U) While the WLO is simply a conduit of support to Agriculture, the real performers are the
TOPIs and our Canadian partners! When things are in full surge mode and information is flowing
back and forth, the only word to describe the energy level in the small WLO office is "awesome"!
(U) Notes:
* MAUI = Multimedia Access User Interface (it is used for retrieving text and multimedia
intelligence reports)
"(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