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(U) Reflections from an American in Paris
FROM: (S//SI)
SIGINT Liaison Officer Paris
Run Date: 09/30/2005
(S//SI) Voila! -- An NSAer completes her tour as SIGINT Liaison Officer in Paris.
(U) As I wrap up my tour in Paris looking out my window at the Eiffel Tower, I have been
struggling to come up with the appropriate words to describe my tour without sounding like I
am crowing. This is impossible. Let me begin by being totally honest. Folks, it truly doesn't get
any better than this. In every way, both professionally and personally, this has been a great job;
make that "the perfect job." As I look back on my dreams as a college student learning French, I
could not even imagine that one day I would actually be sitting in the US Embassy in Paris using
my French every day. Besides the actual location, what has made this job so special? The
reasons are many, and on every level I have been satisfied with my experience here in France.
(S//SI) The primary reason for my satisfaction is the excellent relationship with our French
partners. I arrived here in Paris in September of 2001. On my fifth day of work, I had just met
one of our four partners (the DRM, la Direction de Renseignement Militaire -- France's
Directorate of Military Intelligence) here in France and returned to the Embassy excited by how
interesting and pleasant that encounter had been. I couldn't wait to get started in this job. The
departing SLO,
, and I sat down in our office (with the view!) to continue my
training by going over the actions from the aforementioned meeting. As we logged on to the
computer, a Station colleague told us that a plane had just crashed into a building in New York. I
decided to go and take a look at CNN in the next room. I walked in to see that the entire Station
was gathered around the television set. We watched together in horror as a second plane
appeared on the screen headed for the tower.
(S//SI) Within an hour, the Chief of Station (COS) provided us with a plan of action. He had a
particular reason to be worried as the Station had been working closely with DST (la Direction de
la Surveillance du Territoire, or Directorate for Territorial Surveillance) all summer to monitor an
Al Qai'da cell which was planning to blow up the US Embassy. The Station began a rotating shift
operation, as the COS did not want all of us in the Embassy at the same time. He said we had to
be able to continue to function with a core staff even if the Embassy was taken out. Station
worked closely with the DST to put additional French security forces on detail to protect the
Embassy and close the road adjacent to the Embassy (these measures still exist today). As this
threat was a first heard for me, I was truly questioning why I had ever applied for this job in the
first place. I was so worried about friends and family back in the USA that I just wanted to go
home.
(S//SI) I am glad that I stayed. Many things changed on that day and none more profoundly
than the intelligence relationship with the French. Within minutes of the attack, DGSE (la
Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure, or General Directorate for External
Security) was immediately on the phone expressing their sorrow and outrage at what happened.
Both the DGSE and the DST immediately went to work providing whatever SIGINT and HUMINT
they had or could acquire related to the attack. Over the next few months, DGSE for the first
time provided NSA with raw voice cuts and technical information whenever there was a threat to
a US person or facility.
(S//SI) This kernel of cooperation born from a horrific event has proved to be the building block
of even closer, more cooperative SIGINT relations. I will not go into detail here, suffice it to say
that we have moved from a very formal memo-passing relationship based on faxes signed by
national authorities to one where we can send an "e-mail" message from a SIGINT analyst in the
SID Africa shop to the computer desktop of an analyst in DSGE. Now that's progress! Progress is
always a good reason for satisfaction.
(U//FOUO) So, besides progress in the partnership and good relations with the partner, what
other reasons could I have for satisfaction? FAD [NSA/Foreign Affairs Directorate]. I have been
extremely fortunate in having managers in FAD who not only listened to my concerns about the
partnership but also gave me their support when I needed it most. This is a critical component
when you are a one-man show in the field. Even though you are alone, you absolutely need the
support of your management because you can't go it alone or do it alone. I have also had the
unfailing support and help of my closest collaborator whom I jokingly call my other half, my CDO
[Country Desk Officer],
Finally, there has been the camaraderie of the other SLOs
to get me through the rough times and their help and expertise when a new problem crops up
on my CIA computer account!
(U//FOUO) However, job satisfaction doesn't just end at FAD. As a SLO, I have met and worked
with many delegations from both SID and IAD who traveled here to meet with the partner. The
issues have been varied but all are interesting, and the opportunity to hear these experts has
increased my understanding of many areas of NSA that I have never come into contact with in
previous assignments. We are a very diverse and complex organization with many talented
individuals. By working in a CIA Station, I have learned more than I ever expected about
HUMINT operations. Since an Embassy is really a microcosm of DC, even the absolute worst part
of this job (serving as the Embassy duty officer) has had one redeeming feature: there is no
better way to learn about State Department operations and the other agencies and departments
in our government.
(U) And so to wrap this up, living in Paris has been great for all the reasons I decided to come
here and it has been great for many reasons that I never expected. And what will I remember
most? I will never forget the day I watched a small, elegantly dressed, white-haired, French
woman in her eighties struggle across Place de la Concorde with her cane in one hand and one
long-stemmed white rose in the other. It took her a long time to make the journey, but as she
neared the Embassy I could see on her face the same determination and force of spirit that one
sees on the face of an Olympic athlete. For she too, had a mission; she had come to lay a rose in
front of the Embassy. It was September 12, 2001.
(U) French army parachutist is seen near the rooftop of the Invalides during the "NationDefense" days in Paris (Reuters)
(S//SI) This article is reprinted from the Foreign Affairs Digest, September edition. See also an
earlier article from
titled " (U) Hostage Support -- Another Success Story"
regarding NSA support to the French.
(U//FOUO) If YOU work overseas and have an interesting story to tell, please contact SID today
!
"(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