UKUSA Agreement

Not to be confused with Yakuza.

UKUSA Community
Australia Canada New Zealand United Kingdom United States of America

The United Kingdom – United States of America Agreement (UKUSA, /juːkuːˈsɑː/ ew-koo-SAH)^[1]^[2] is a multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence among the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The alliance of intelligence operations is also known as Five Eyes. It was first signed in March 1946 by the United Kingdom and the United States and later extended to encompass the three Commonwealth realms of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The UKUSA Agreement was a follow-up of the 1943 BRUSA Agreement, the World War II agreement on cooperation over intelligence matters.^[3] This was a secret treaty, allegedly so secret that it was kept secret from the Australian Prime Ministers until 1973.^[4]

The agreement established an alliance of five English-speaking countries for the purpose of sharing intelligence, especially signals intelligence. It formalized the intelligence sharing agreement in the Atlantic Charter, signed in 1941, before the entry of the U.S. into the conflict.^[5]

1 History
2 Collection mechanisms
3 Global coverage
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

History [edit]

The agreement originated from a ten-page British–U.S. Communication Intelligence Agreement, also known as BRUSA, that connected the signal intercept networks of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) at the beginning of the Cold War. The document was signed on March 5, 1946 by Colonel Patrick Marr-Johnson for the U.K.'s London Signals Intelligence Board and Lieutenant General Hoyt Vandenberg for the U.S. State–Army–Navy Communication Intelligence Board. Although the original agreement states that the exchange would not be "prejudicial to national interests", the United States often blocked information sharing from Commonwealth countries. The full text of the agreement was released to the public on June 25, 2010.^[6]

Under the agreement, the GCHQ and the NSA shared intelligence on the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and several eastern European countries (known as Exotics).^[7] The network was expanded in the 1960s into the Echelon collection and analysis network.^[8]

Collection mechanisms [edit]

The UKUSA alliance is often associated with the ECHELON system; however, processed intelligence is reliant on multiple sources of information and the intelligence shared is not restricted to signals intelligence.

Global coverage [edit]

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Each member of the UKUSA alliance is officially assigned lead responsibility for intelligence collection and analysis in different parts of the globe.

Australia [edit]

Australia hunts for communications originating in Indochina, Indonesia, and southern China.

Canada [edit]

Formerly the northern portions of the former Soviet Union and conducting sweeps of all communications traffic that could be picked up from embassies around the world. In the post-Cold War era, a greater emphasis has been placed on monitoring satellite, radio and cellphone traffic originating from Central and South America, primarily in an effort to track drugs and non-aligned paramilitary groups in the region.

New Zealand [edit]

The Waihopai Valley Facility—base of the New Zealand branch of the ECHELON Program.

New Zealand is responsible for the western Pacific. Listening posts in the South Island at Waihopai Valley just south-west of Blenheim, and on the North Island at Tangimoana. The Anti-Bases Campaign holds regular protests in order to have the listening posts closed down.

United Kingdom [edit]

Europe, Africa, and European Russia.

United States [edit]

Monitors most of Latin America, Asia, Asiatic Russia, and northern China.

References [edit]

^ "Declassified UKUSA Signals Intelligence Agreement Documents Available" (Press release). National Security Agency. June 24, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
^ Also known as the Quadripartite Agreement or Quadripartite Pact (EPIC, Privacy International (2002), Privacy and Human Rights 2002: An International Survey of Privacy Rights and Developments, Epic, 2002, p. 100, ISBN 1-893044-16-5 )
^ Joan Coxsedge [Dangerous new powers "to counter terrorism"] The Guardian, 12 December 2001, copy on the website of the Communist Party of Australia.
^ Australian House of Representatives November 20, 1986, copy on website of williambowles.info
^ The Puppet Masters, John Hughes-Wilson, Cassell, London, 2004.
^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (June 25, 2010). "Not so secret: deal at the heart of UK-US intelligence". The Guardian. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
^ Aldrich, Richard (June 24, 2010). "Allied code-breakers co-operate – but not always". The Guardian. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
^ Gardham, Duncan (June 24, 2010). "Document that formalised 'special relationship' with the US". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 25, 2010.