USA TODAY February 06, 2003
Spy agencies watching Iraqis' response
By John Diamond
WASHINGTON -- U.S. intelligence agencies are monitoring Iraq closely for signs that the information divulged Wednesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell will cause Baghdad to improve its methods of concealing illegal weapons programs, Bush administration officials said.
The intensive monitoring effort described by U.S. officials involves spy satellites and eavesdropping devices and points up the concern at the CIA and other intelligence agencies about the cost of revealing U.S. secrets about Iraq. One official said some indications, such as the closing of compromised Iraqi military communications lines, could appear immediately.
Powell used highly sensitive intelligence in a Bush administration bid to convince reluctant allies that Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction, and to move global and domestic opinion toward military action against Iraq. He presented spy satellite photos that the United States says show hasty Iraqi cleanup efforts at suspected weapons sites before the arrival of United Nations inspectors. He played audio intercepts of Iraqi officers apparently talking about how to hide information from inspectors. And he disclosed information from defectors and detainees about alleged Iraqi biological weapons programs and possible ties to al-Qaeda.
One of the most damning pieces of evidence could also prove the most costly to U.S. intelligence. It was a satellite photo showing an otherwise nondescript Iraqi ammunition bunker that Powell said contained chemical weapons.
"How do I know that? How can I say that? Let me give you a closer look," Powell said.
The Nov. 10 photograph showed what intelligence professionals call a "signature," which points to the presence of something signficant at that location. In this case, it was a structure and what Powell said was a decontamination vehicle. The structure, he said, contained equipment to detect any leak of toxic substances from the bunker. The decontamination vehicle could douse objects or persons exposed to the toxins. Why would such equipment be on hand, Powell asked, unless the bunker contained chemical weapons?
Though a picture of a vehicle parked next to a bunker might not seem much to the layperson, experts grasped its significance.
"It's one of our crown jewels," said Kenneth Pollack, an Iraq expert on President Clinton's national security team and author of a book that advocates invasion of Iraq. "It's the way we've known about Iraqi chemical warfare bunkers for 20 years. We are never going to see those signatures again."
The presentation also revealed how closely U.S. intelligence follows Iraqi activity. A Dec. 22 photograph of the same site showed the results of an apparent Iraqi cleanup. The telltale decontamination truck was gone as U.N. inspection vehicles pulled in.
Powell's use of electronic intercepts of Iraqi military officers speaking was highly unusual. National Security Agency transcripts are almost never made public, even years after they are obtained. The handful of exceptions in NSA history include material from North Korea after the seizure of the USS Pueblo in 1968, from the Soviet Union after the downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983 and from Libya after the terrorist bombing of a Berlin disco.
Three audio intercepts played by the secretary of State revealed men identified as Iraqi military officials discussing concealment of weapons-related information from the U.N.
In one, a man can be heard dictating orders that a subordinate "remove the expression 'nerve agents' " from wireless communications. "The senior officer is concerned that somebody might be listening," Powell said. "Well, someone was."
A U.S. official says the Iraqi communications occurred "in the clear," a lapse by Iraq that experts say is unlikely to be repeated. NSA experience shows that disclosure of intercepts leads to the immediate loss of the ability to monitor that line of communication. Taped evidence
Colin Powell played a tape for the U.N. Security Council of a conversation he said occurred Jan. 30, in which an officer from the Iraqi Republican Guard headquarters instructed a field officer about empty chemical warheads.
HQ: There is a directive of the (Republican) Guard chief of staff at the conference today. . . .
Field: Yes.
HQ: They are inspecting the ammunition you have . . . for the possibility there are forbidden ammo.
Field: Yes?
HQ: For the possibility there is by chance forbidden ammo.
Field: Yes.
HQ: And we sent you a message to inspect the scrap areas and the abandoned areas.
Field: Yes.
HQ: After you have carried out what is contained in the message . . . destroy the message. . . . Because I don't want anyone to see this message.
TEXT WITHIN GRAPHIC BEGINS HERE
The interceptors
U.S. intelligence has three main ways of intercepting communications: satellites, aircraft and ground stations. Some transmissions are sent without the protection of encryption. This was the case with the intercepts played Wednesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations, according to a U.S. official. The three main collection methods:
Satellites
* U.S. intelligence is said to have five eavesdropping satellites monitoring communications around the globe. They can intercept voice and data transmissions, walkie-talkie communications, cellphone links and TV and radio broadcasts.
Air surveillance
* The Air Force maintains a fleet of 14 RC-135 "Rivet Joint" aircraft. Built on the old Boeing 707 airframe, these jets are especially useful in intercepting enemy military communications. Other aircraft also are used.
Ground stations
* The National Security Agency operates about 50 stations capable of intercepting high-frequency communications and radar transmissions.
GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, B/W, Sources: U.S. intelligence, Department of Defense, author Jeffrey Richelson and GlobalSecurity.org (ILLUSTRATION)
Copyright © 2003, Gannett Company, Inc.
