citizens against unidentified flying object secrecy

8/3/2019 Citizens against Unidentified Flying Object Secrecy

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I submit

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II1my unclass i f i ed a f f i d a v i ~, . I, Ia l l document s whi ch h ~ v e iIj

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Civ i l Action No.80-1562

CJ i \ q r ! J " - ' ~.. 0 __ _----

beginning of each p ara gra ph o f t h i sto the p l a i n t i f f .

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

This a f f i d av i t supplements

Defendant .

v.

(U ).

~ p seeK!. (-=-- .,--' .._-_. '

~ h records

t hi s a ff id a vi t in camera fo r the purpose of s ~ a t i n g f a c t s , wh i chcannot be publ ic ly d is clo se d, t ha t a re the bas i s fo r cxemptiny

been l oca ted by NSA pu r suan t to p l a i n t i f f ' s FOIA r eques t bu twhich have been wi thhe1d \ ~ h o 1 l y or in pa r t by NSA.

executed on September 30, 1980 regarding

capac i ty , and upon conc lus ions reached in accordance therewi th .

Eugene F. Yeates , being duly sworn, deposes and s ~ y s :

a f f i dav i t , the l e t t e r or l e t t e r s within paren theses d e s i g n a t ~ ( s )

IN CAMERAAFFIDAVIT OF EUGENE F. YEATES

the degree of s en s i t i v i t y o f information t b paragraph con ta in s .

1 . (U) I am the Chief , Off ice of Po licy , o f th e Nat iona l

per sona l review o f i nf ormati on a v a ~ ~ a b l e to me in my o f f i c i ~ l

to the Freedom o f Informat ion Act (FOIA) fo r NSA r eco r as . Thes ta tement s h e r ei n a re based upon persona l knowledge, upon my

r es po ns ib le fo r p ro ce ss in g a ll i n it i al r eques ts made pursuan tSecur i ty Agency (NSA). As Chie f, O f fi ce o f Po l i cy , I am

County of Anne Arundel

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY,

S ta t e of Maryland

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CITIZENS AGAINST UNIDENTIFIEDFLYING OBJECTS SECRECY,!

P l a i n t i f f ,

,

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'IiiII.. ..: ' , : , . ~ ' ' ; ~ .' . : ' .:"\'.1".,; ..... ', ": ...

....

The symbols " (SC)" and ~ ( T S C ) " stand for

"CODEWORD" refers to one of the dis t inc t ive f ive- let ter words

the information i s unclassified or i s c la ss if ie d CONFIDENTIAL,

"SECRET C O D E ~ i O R D " and "TOP SECRET CODEWORD",' respect ively.SECRET or TOP SECRET

Ii The l e t te rs "U", "C", "s " and "TS" i nd ic a te r espec ti ve ly tha tIi.i;1\11,

,used to ident i fy the sourc e of the i nformat ion as communicationsintel l igence (COMINT), to dist inguish between COMINT categoriesand sub-categories, and to fac i l i t a te th e application of regula

rl t ions for the dissemination and us e of COMINT. ~ h codeword1\ "UMBRA" appearing in conjunction with th e TOP SECRET class i f i ca

t ion a t th e to p and bottom of each page of t hi s a ff id a vi t, is

i:

2of p la in t i f f ' s FOIA request . I t is an account by a personaff idavi t , was erroneously t r ~ a t e d as par t of the subject matter

in NSA f i les . Seventy-nine of these documents originated withother 9Qvernment agencies and have been referred by NSA tothose agencies for their direc t response to the pla in t i f f .

IOne document, which I add re ssed in paragraph 20c of my public

channels, i . e . , disclosed only to persons el ig ib le toreceive COMINT i t s e l f ~

THE RELEVANT DOCUMENTS' ~ . ~ I n processing the pla in t i f f ' s FOIA request , a

to ta l of two hundred and th i r ty-nine documents were located

not require codeword protect ion, must be kept within COMINT

VIA COMINT CHANNELS ONLY", i s used to designate informationrelated to COMINT or COMINT act iv i t i es , which, although it does

appropria te to th e highest c ate go ry o r su b- ca te go ry o f COMINTto which they relate , even though they may not c on ta in COMINTas such. G'he symbol "CCO", which stands for the caveat "HANDLE

the codeword applicable to Category I II (the highest category)C O M I N ~ Documents revealing sens i t ive de ta i l s about th e production of COMINT must bear th e class i f ica t ion and codeword

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assigned t o NSA o f h i s at tendance a t a UFO s ~ n p o s i u m ~ n it \

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A l l o f the t i t l e a f t e r UFO, which addresses

A document e n t i t l e d UFO n y p o t h e s i s an d S u r ~ i v a l

(1)

a .

i n t h i s documen t wer e made a s fo llo ws :I

a f f e c t s U.S. i n t e l l i g e n c e g a t h e r i n g c a p a b i l i t i e s , ] D e l e t i o n s

i n a p i l i t y t o respond c o r r e c t l y to s u r p r i s i n g informat ion or

gence community to p r o c e s s t h i s type o f unusual d a t a a d v e r s e l y

d i s c u s s e s what he c o n s i d e r s to be a s e r i o u s shor tcoming i n theAgency's COMINT i n t e r c e p t i o n an d r e p o r t i n g procedures - - ~ e

e n t i t l e d Y F O ' ~ r a n d the I ~ t e l l i q e n c e C9J!munity Blind Spot t oS u r p r i s e o r Deceptive Q a t a : ] In t h i s document, t h e author

and a d e l e t i o n o f a r e f e r e n c e to h i s NSA component.page seven o f the name o f t h e employee who prepared the d r a f tQ y ~ s t i o ~ was r e l e a s e d t o t h e p l a i n t i f f witb the d e l e t i o n on

r e l e a s e d t o the p l a i n t i f f with the exempted m a t e r i a l d e l e t e d .The d e l e t i o n s i n these documents a r e explained below:

p l a i n t i f f . Two a d d i t i o n a l non-COMINT records have beenp u b l i c a f f i q a v i t , was r e c e n t l y d e c l a s s i f i e d an d r e l e a s e d t o '

cannot f a i r l y be s a i d to be a record o f the kind sought by t h ep l a i n t i f f . Another document, discussed i n paragraph ~ O o f my

IIiIIIIiiI!ji!ithe p e r c e i v e d shortcoming, and a l l o f paragraph one, which iIIi discusses ~ employee's pe


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c r i t i ca l Agency mission wil l of necessi ty come from within.

employee runs i f subsequently found wrong . Thus, th is matter

Public disclosure of such information, especial ly when it"

.., -;

"

.) .: ~ : . : : ..-_ i iRA.:.-... '"a ? p ' " j . ' r ~ t:":... ...' [ " ~ . ~ _ . ~ . - ~ - - .P-..-..

matters speci f ica l ly exempted from disclosure by another s ta tu te .As noted in paragraph 20, sub-paragraph b of my public a f f idav i t ,

5 .U.S.C. S552(b)(3 ) which exempts from release under the FOIA

thus, i s exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5552(b)(l) .The material in th is paragraph also concerns the organizat ionand operat ional act iv i t i es and functions of NSAGiirected agains! j

This material i s exempt from disclosure uncer

(2 ) Paragrriph t h r e ~ of th is document uses a s ignalsin te l l igence operation ~ ~ i n s i J to i l lus t ra tethe ~ u t h o r ' s point . Thi s parag raph contains information a b o u ~SIGINT ac t iv i t i e s that i s currently and properly class i f ied and,

was deleted purs ua nt t o 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(5).

advances a novel theory, could have the ef fect of s t i f l ing suchcandor by the r isk of diminutiOn of professional standing the

especially in an intel l igence Agency where the most meaningfulsuggestions regarding ways to promote th e eff ic iency of the

of the handling of UFO phenomena uS i t demonstrates what hebelieve,s i s the rIess than optimum abi l i ty of the intel l igence . \community to p ro ce ss and evaluate highly unusual d a t ~ As Is ta ted in mt public aff idavi t (pa ragraph 20b ), the type ofcandor that i s reflected in this record must be encouraged

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...

:; Public Law 86-36 pr.ovides that no law shal l be construed toI:'I r equ i re d isc lo sure of the org,mization or any f un ctio n o f theNSA or any information with respect to act iv i t i es thereof .

,,. (3) Parag raph fou r of the memorandum s ta te s theof the ab i l i ty of the Agency employees to deal with unusualphenomena i t i s not r espons iv e to the plu in t i f f ' s request

\'lhile it talkS

4

I; conclusions and recommenda tions of the au thor .11I'!1\Ii";I'\!I,1\

"....


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.....:.. " : ...

regarding UFO or UFO phenomena. I any even t , as I s ta ted in ......my public af f idav i t (paragraph 20b) , the sub j ec t m ~ t t e ~ o f

"

,I ~ t ha t p a r a g ~ a P h .Ls exempt f r o ~ di sc losure because it con ta ins th e

employee ' s ' spec i f ic r eccmmenda cLons for addressj.ng the p ro blem o f: ..

responding to s u rp r is e ma te r ia l. For the reasons s t a t ed in

For p u r p o ~ e s of my

5

CorUNT REPOR'rs

r:

The f in a l d e le tio n i s in appendix A, paragraph 10

One hundred an d f i f t e en of these repor t s were.

( 4 )

any r ef er en ce to UFO or UFO phenomena and i s , t he r e fo r e ,

r epor t . This sec t ion t a l k s ~ b o u t decep t ive communicat ionsused b iJ the Vietnamese aga in s t U.s. fo rces an d does not

by ~ h oigna l s i n t e l l i gence o r g ~ n i z a t i o n ~ ~1111.... ~ h e s e COMINT repor t s a re provided to N S produced

based upon the source of the r epor t .

which were produced between 1956 and 1979.discuss ion here , th es e r ec or ds a re organized in to th ree groups

reques t , it i s exempt from d isc losure pur suant to 5 U.S.C. 552

In o t r es po ns iv e to p l a i n t i f f ' s reques t . Nonetheless th e sub j ec t Imatter of sub-paragraph 10 i s cur rent ly an d properly c l a s s i f i ed . 1'.i.'hus, even i f it we r e deemed to be within the scope of Plaint i ff , : : ; liIIIi

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!I. sub-paragraph (1 ) above, these r ecommendat.Lcns a re exempt fromji d isc losure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(5) . One spec i f i c recomI! mendation suggests an opera t iona l approach to so lv in g th e problemI: which r evea l s NSA ac t iv i t i e s an d i s , t here fore , e x e m ~ t from1\ d isc losure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(3) as e X P l a i ~ e d above.11It of " "I;". tactl .CSinc ludeIIgI:,;I!Iiti (b ) ( l ) .rj; 5. 'l'he remaining on e hundred and f i f ty - s ix r eco r d s;: being withheld a re communications i n t e l l i gence (COMINT) repor t s,:\,I;j;pI;Il


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__ _.. _ : l ....__ ~ I ~ ' " . ~ ~ , . . , : - - . tr: "O r ' " )

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Ij' (1) Two of the records a t issue here were p r c d u c e ~ I" Ii by .G'he Ii'l::; s ~ e m e : : S l t ~ . : [The ~ p o , t "om;:,'1I f / _ ~ a s provided to N S ~ . . 772mp LIii!j:1;j:j

b. Two of these C O ~ I N T r e por ts o r ig in a tc9 from

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in exchange for the shar ing of t echnology and COl-lIN'l' inrormtl t ion.,..'. ,

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c . The remaining, t h i r t y - n ine C O ~ I I N ' r qo.cuments we r eI

produced by NS/\ or r e l a t e to NSA SIGINT ope ra t i ons . That is,these r epor t s or ig ina ted ' a t liSA i t s e l f o i in f i e l d s i t e s underthe opera t iona l an d t ec h ni ca l c o nt ro l of NSA.

6. (U) All of the COMINT r epor t s a re in e i t he r message orsummary format . A r epo r t in message format conta ins a s ing leunderlying communication p r e s ~ n t e d in a c l a s s i c cable format ,

.' .

i.e., the verbat im t ex t o f the pa r t i cu l a r t r ansmiss ion , precededan d fol lowed by "extcr r ia ls" cons is t ing o f: da ta about the ce nde c

provides in summary form the conten ts o f a s ing le message orof a smal l number o f r e la ted i n t e rcep ted commun Lc a. tLons , of tenaccompanied by some' technic"l l da tu .

7. ~ o n e hundred and f i f ty - four o f the one hundredand f i f ty - s iy . COMINT r epor t s a re based \ ~ h o l i y upon i n t e rcep ted

/\ summary, as the l abe l sugge s t s ,the r t echnica l information.i and the r ec ip i en t ; the da tes an d t imes of t r ansmiss ion ; and

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communications o f fo re ig n governments t ransmit ted on non-public-.

c O ~ R u n i c a t i o n s f a c i l i t i eu in my publ icThe other record which i s not ~ a 9 C ~

on i n t e rcep ted communications, f r o i J " g O v e r n m e ~ t ne!',i, [ f a c i l i t i e s ,

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uses

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o n ~ l E e p o r t , in summaz y

_1'" r ' ~ ' ? 5 e ' l " :.r r . . .( . . ,i.._

i format, was p r o d u c e u - b ~ " I I .l ~ r o m the intercepteci communicat ions be tween tH 0i -rI ~ i r c r a f t s and a 9found con t ro l l e r i ~ J t I I I f

I: U971 hi 1- 1 F 1 ~ e - .. . repor t a "phenomena"! .I in the sk y nor th oil F . f r h r e ~ e p o r t s a re

\1 aummarde s 0il_Gessages in tercepted froEl) . I ~ ~ o ~ m u n i c a t i o n s . The messages. were t ransmit ted frolii]I ' - . . - r : STlOi _ Ik ~ l ! . a d a r opera tors to a cent ra l control s t a t ion . In thestLJIi ~ I ; e s s a g e s , t h &era to r s repor t everything tha t":" appears on the i r radar l;jcreens-. t'1hen they cannot ident i fy a,: par t icula r ob jec t , they repor t it as an un iden t if ia b l e ob j ec t .I:1\ un iden t i f i ed

\: [ ! ex t J! b. ~ ' l : _ H e p ' o r t s l ihich T?rget t h e ]

1\ ~ o m m u n i c a ~ i o n s System oiT~ t i n c hundred a n nine documents in summary ~ o r m : ~ r r e p o r tI' on in tercepted communications between_aelarI:j: opera tors and a cent ra l c on tr ol p o in t. These summarie s a rcI:r , s imilar to the reports de s c r Lbed in SUb-po/Cl9raph a above arid Jil!!"itIiI'nIiIiIII:i!

!0::;; a descr ip t ion of an incident p urp orte d to have beon Lea r ned \I from U.S. in te rcept ion and analys is

I~ o m m u n i c a t i o h s : . 1 ,I; 8. G " ' ~ h e C01HNT repor t s originated b V ~ : 1 i I 7 ' 1 Ii ~ a be' fu r ther descr ibed in terms o fr: sources and in te l l i9 :nce ~ a r g e t s as f O l ~ o ~ s i Jii a . I? mEr, ElF COMIN'r Reports tvhich-'l: _Target Communications Tr.ansmi tteel on]l! - -Ii !TIunications F ~ c i l i t i e s .

,

.


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....

and the]

ommunicat ionsProduct o f

( . . 5 T E T - ~unformation pertaining to the radar IS T r # ~ Iof objec t s 0..---:1-11..-s--r-a-=di"r screen ' whi ch ho I

II!

& o m m a n d e ~ r ega rd i ng a .ye ll ow objeb t t h a t

0:.

i d e n t i f y Jc . JI I II I II I I II I ICOMINT Report Which Targets]

~ o m m u n i c a t i o n s . This document i s a

sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) a b o v e ~d . ~ O M I N T Report Which Tarqet s ]TRlcommunic:a t ions . This summary was prepared

0t conta ins a

was reported to have fa l len in to tile -sea, These messageswere t ransmit ted along ~ o v e r n m e n t n e ~ " l ! a c i l i t y . J

summary of in tercepted messages prepared in 1976 which r epor t ]r a d ~ T ~ ~ a C k i n g informat ion from ~ " " " ' ~ a ~ ; s ta t ion to acent ra l cont ro l point . I t i s similar. to the repor t s descr ibed

III!Ii11 ~ g a i n ,/i opera tor ' s reportI:

I

I;. . . .;"j!IiIi inj:Ii. . . .Ii in 1966 b i)I:1\ summary of in tercepted communications which were t r ansmi t tedI!Ii between th eIij;L,:j!:: SIGINTI:" I . . : . : = = ~ = . : : : . . . = . . ; : = . : . : = . - = - : : . : : : - = ~ = : . : : - = : : - .I'i . of . [The tW


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'9.

- - ; t : t ~ : ; b ~ 7 . i : ~ ~ : : : ~ ~ .. , J : ' 3 ~ ~ ~ ~ f . * : ' ~ " . ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : r i g i ~ a : e d r e D o r t ~ - T h i r t y - e i g h t d o c u ~ e n t s

The

IiI1,jIr ep o r t siII

These document s cnn be

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purpor ted UFO z i g h t i n g biJlllllllll,10

." - . ...., . :iU '. >iu,ri",'j ITUX" '"

The document u e s c r i b i n g SIG!NT o p e r a t i o n s

b. One record i s a 1973 r e p o r t which summarizes1'.. IUI&es sa9. e t ra n sm i t t e d )C f r o m t h j__

a .

f a c t u a l ci rcumstances o f the i n c i d e n t r e p o ~ t e a i n t h i s record- ~ ' " = ' " - - - ~ - - - - ~were r e c e i v e d by NSA from ran Fon!, r eq u es te r o th e r th an th e': '1LI/ p l ~ ~ t i f f and a r e c o n s i d e r e d t o be f i c t i t i o u s by NSA a n a l y s t s .

i1

i; ~ r the d i r e c t p r c d ~ c t o f NSA SIGINT o p e r a t i o n s and one documentI~ , d e s c r i b e s c l a s s i f i e d SIGINT a c t i ~ i t i e s .

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I. [3.n a l l e g e d i n t e r c e p t o i j IJi!S.ommunic;;J.tions.I;IiJ,i;I;l:iI:

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a n d_Two documents report on communications

commun ica t.ions.format and report t h e ~ " I I , , " " " I I "

i' A.wo of th e records are ~ n . ~ e s s a ? e ,I: ~ Ii t ions which re la te that an un ident if ied f ly ing objec t : ::munica -I sighted in the a ir by a ni t . One repor tji\; contains a summary of _ act iv i ty based upon communica-I; t ions in reaction to an unidentif ied flying object along the! ~ " " " " " " " '. '1;""-"-"transmitted between .

Ii I'III ~ c . Twelve NSA-originated COMINT reports targetIi th e communications l inks and systems o f

Two documents, in summary format, report t h e ~,

.. ; ,t. ..ho report visual observations of luminous spheres. Oneis a summary of a t ransmission

Final ly,"

"

four documents in th is group of twelve were intercepted fromother. communications ta rgets . One document is basedon the intercei?ted t ransmission-of"a:;reporting a bright l igh t . The second record is based on the

,.i' intercept of a t ransmission of an toiI: a station seeking a report on any shining phenomena or

; ::,

reports

The third and

All five of these

reporting observa-

11

Iibased on intercepted communications t ,ansmitted IiIIIIII

IIIiIIIIIII

. units and

y ..

t ions of luminous objects in th e sky.

fourth re po rts a re a summaries of on-going debates on UFOs amongfal l ing meteori tes observed on sp ec if ied da te s .

1;:f,'.,C . i ~ " , , , : * .A,*:* .

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12/21

,

I l ~ t l ~ g ! ! t j i ~ ~ J : > i ? ~ ~ 2 t l 1 Z i i : ; l I f i ~ ~ M E ~ ] 1 i f ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i f . ~ i ~ R i , "I. . j:I: .....) J ~ < . ) ; r . . . \ . . dI . - .,i."io!t'.,,_/C)l ""A .Ii ::i"iDA. ~ Q : ' . . ~ ~ : - - - - - . . _ . . . .I: " e . Four NSA-originated COMINT repor t s t a rge t

-:Ij communications l inks or systems. Three ' r epor ts are ini summary formrt and a re based on an in tercepted m e s s a g e ~ t r a n s .mit ted s i t e srepor t ing an u n i d e n t i f . i ~ ~ f l y i n g objec t : : . : . . : e . rY high a l t i t ude ;an in tercepted message t r ansmi t ted from ........ 11'1t\: rT'. repor t ing t ha t an unident i f ied f lying objec t with two

I. . ,\ ~ ~ , l i 9 h t S " h a : d passed over_and an in tercepteo

i , . ~ o i c J message t ra nsm itt ed to s& .'_n f a c i l i t y by a\. ns.. .' -w ho :reported an unident i f ied flying

iIIIIII

based on

(two repor t s based

(two reports based on communica-

12

in__ report ing an objec t tha t appeared

communica ti ons between two a n an u n i ~ e n t i f 1 ' e - d ~ i : i l o n J i n t . . h i c h . : ~ r e p o r t e ds igh t ings of br ight or l i gh t spo t s ) , (a r epo r t " based

j: t ions o f.__. and an unident i f ied senc1er report ingI: s igh t ings of a UFO), ....I:\, on communications by1 repor t ing uniden t i f i ed\: f lying objec ts ) , 7. 7 ' . ( a repor t based on a message from aI i_ to an unident i f ied r ece ive r i n Ii- - repor t ing a s ight ing of un id ent if ie d f ly in g object"s},I:.. (a repor t from an .., .r. SUMO >i . to the_I:: to be a rocket overI:I;l.j:I:II:I!j;IiIiI'i:ri:i:

L objec t . The four th repor t i s based upon a message bet \ : /eenl? Iregarding a UFO s i g h t i n c r ~. f . 'Sixteen NSA-originated COMINT repor t s t a rge t

I ! . , . ~ h e 'bovernment , n e t : t c o m D l u ~ : , ~ a t i o n s : ~ y s t e m s and l i n ~ : ' O fr:a,e ' /eral d i f fe ren t c o u n t r i e . ~ . This group contains summaries1: of in tercepted t ransmissions bet\'1een .... p.J'


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Each repor t

report ing an

II

the s ighHng "(a repor t based upon a t r ans- .

from in tercepted t ransmissionsSrE;Ta i rc ra f t by ~ C r a d a ~

One document in summary format

transmission report ing the s ight ing of an elongated

EXEMPTION OF THE COMINT REPORTS'-iE, 6) Ppr imary and often overr iding considerat ion0.

report ing the tra ck in g o f unident i f ied

(a repor t based on a message f rom '- 'to an a uniden t i f i edrepor t ing a s ight ing of an unident i f ied flying o b j e c t ) , ~

mission between_ repor t ing t ha t some . .:>aw a ba l l of l i gh t about the size of an orange moving overhead) .

III' . ,"-1.:- .'" . - -. r - ,,iit ' ) 2I, I" '" f " " ~ ~ ' e ' ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' i t ..... 'f''! "'". . .".. 'j I ' . .I .. . 1- .. ., I " .. J . ; ' : , : .: : _ - ~ ., ' : , . . .!i on at r . n s m ~ s ~ o : f r o ~ : - : ~ ~ ; ; ; " : i t t ~ I:j:i:I, rec ipient whli.ch provided i ns t r uc t ions fo r repor t ingI:j1 of f ly ing objec t s ) , and

I:I: One documen t in summary format i s the product of an inteI;ceptedI:HI! ba l l of f i r e . One document in message format repor ts the t ex tI: of a _message sen t by the .l:.... to the'Il unident i f ied flying objec t .i: repor ts t h ~ t e x t1: frem , .i" which was t ransmit ted&lOng a Ugovernment n e f a c i l i t y .1: I t repor ts , among o th er items , - :n increase in UFO a c t ~ i t y .I ~ The l a s t three documents in th is group repor t on in terceptedI'I: communications of I.:: contains in format ion 'de rivedI:i.I:n operators .IiIii:j!I. regarding the c lass i f i ca t ion of CmlIN'r repor ts i s tha t the need

,

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13

I:.....'.... '10,.. TF .. ' I I ' I' i ?J fim ., -",._:.,.1."_,6 l ' ; ~ ~ .. . ~ IIT ..."..,. ...... " ,- _, T.:..... .

the contents of COMINT repor ts may be disc losed , where, as here ,underlying in tercepted message$. Never theless , no port ion ofgrea ter than the need to pro tec t sens i t ive contents of the

reveal ing t he i nf ormat ion would have the e f f ec t of ident i fyingrIIi:I:I:Ir::j:i:I'i:

II to protec t communications i n t e l l i gence sources and methods i sI:ij;j;I'I:


14/21

or the t a rge t communicat6rs the spec i f i c communications t h a t had" been i n t e r c e p ~ e d and exp1oLted. One hundred and f i f t y - four o f

-: the CONINT r epor t s being \ 'l it hhe ld are the p ro du ct o f i n t e r cep tope ra t io n s d i re c t ed aga ins t_fore ign ' government c o n t r o r l ~ ~ " "

con ten t s of these r cpo r t s \ ~ o u l d }i;is 'close the,.-. . -t a rge t t h e s ! 1 ~ v e r n m e . n t ' c o n t r o l l e ~ o m -Even where the .underlying commun I ca -

1:: ccmmunLca t Lcrls systems within the i r t e r r i t o r i a l boundar Le s ,i In 1'1; c:evea :l.ng theII; capab i l i ty of NSA tol\municat ion sys tems .Hons1\I'I;

,.-0.

'.had been in tercep ted ,or p r o c e s ~ i n g by NSA. Moreover, thed is cl os ure o f these r epor t s would revea l much more than thei den t i t y of the targeted communicat ions systems . , I t \ ~ o u l d

, .'

14

c o m m u n i c a t i o n ~ sources involved in1.

a) Disclosure 'o f the repor t diSCUSsed in paragraph 9bwould i n f o r ~ . I I ' lm U:hat t he i rcommunicat ions b ~ n t e r n a t i o n a t common' c a r r i e ~ a c i l i t i e s J

- .e." 1 I 1 I ~ ~ a n be in tercep ted and s e l ec t edout by NSA, and, even more impor tan t ly , t ha t t h

revea l as

I:,:I!

I:I: th i s case -- which a re s pe c if ie d or imp li ci tl y i d en t if ie d in" r:.I the CO!'lINT repor t s being \d thheld by N S --L,E-re the s ~ u r C ' e : o f " II e x t r e m e l ~ valuable . communicat ions ' i l l t ~ l i g e n c e covering a broad ' ..l ~ range of kinds o f in fo rma ti on f r o ~ e & n d o t h e ~\; ~ c t i V i t i ~ s til l ' gl ~ n ~ G l a t t e r . s . J , , !: melease of these doc umen cs would ser ious ly damage the ab i l i ty ofI:Cn the United Sta tes ~ ga the r t h i s v i t a l " in te l l igence in format ionI! fo r th e f ol lowi ng reasons:I

v .


15/21

70lbl' Theta .rnu fne a t is su e h ere , based on messages t r a n s m i t t ~ d ~ ; i a: J ~ ,i n t e rna t i ona l common access car r ie r f a c i l i t i i . ~ ~ O U l d a lso r ev ealth i s Agency' s c apac I tiJ:o se lec t from such in tercepted communi-c c ~ t i o n s those messages having p o t e n t i ~ l in te l l igence va lue . ___

i;l :

j;I,i more, reveal ing the NSi\ in te rcep t cp e r a t i.on < : ! . g < l i n : : : ; l l ~ e " in::eJi:1a-II II: t iona l c o m m o ~ access ca r r i e r r o u t . ~ G h i ' : h yielded, t h ! : ' - f essage could :ause ~ ; l e un i ted sr a tez to lose acc e s si: to the communication.:; o i J ~ h e r foreign governments who use t lE l t!: - ' ' ' - ~i same communications r O l l t ~Iil:j!:;

(c) As I h ~ v e s ta ted in my open a f f idav i t , when a l e ~ t e dto the ex ten t of N S ~ ' s capab i l i t y , and i f given information from

15

Ii:I:I;"i


16/21

;' \;hich inferences could be drawrl as to th e p r c c ~ z s i n g ! ~ e t h o d sused, foreign inte l l igence services ~ ; c u l d be able to e ~ a ~ e ori'

{paragraphsc l , or t r ansmiss ions

d is cl os ur e o f other records a t is su e h ere , wouldr e s u l t in the loss of the i n t e l l i g ence i n f o r m a t i o ; f ~ ~ t h e r e d.,v,..:.from the in tercep t ion of th e government ne t communicat ionssystems:" '- , The value o f the i n t e l l i g cnce da ta col l cc ted fl."oms 'these sources i s obvious .

(a) ~ o example, ana ly s i s of da ta col l ec ted fromthe i n t e r cep t o f ~ G . o m m l l n i C a t i O n ~ t . 2 & . 7 / ~ f .Jfore ign g o v e r n m e n t : j . b " I ~ . _ l U l i . '(paragraphs (lo, o, c , e and 9f) I ,.. nll '(ommllnications ( p ~ r i l g r a p h

I defea t por t ions of NSA's p re sen t f o r ~ i g n in te l l igence e f fo r t sI ~ ,r[ ia rget in i l i , r l t e rnat ional common ca r r i e r linW ' r h c s ~ count r iesI could ~ expected to use d i f f e r en t ro utes o f c o m ~ u n i c ~ t i o n o rII'iI,.i:i.oI!rI,i;IiI:j;r."I:\:!'j:l'j;j:r .r!:

I' r:,i.L1:-Iii:1!"IlI:I:I:,I'II"!:J:I,

,"L ~ " ' , i j ~ ~ : J ~ j ' . ' . i t vtiisn."iatllff'.... ' -. ' .. '. -'..- . . - -


17/21

'. : ,':,

Ij. II!

communica-

i s v i t a l toas d a t i ]

t a r g e t e i 7 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t ~ o m m u n i -,:i' cat ions provide c r i t i c a l technicali'Iii'i' ' the d e v e l o p r n ~ n t of U. S. countermeasures... t ' _ ~ o m i n u n i c a t i " o n s - a r e among th2f

!; ~ u r c e s of in te l l igence information r e 9 a r d i n ~ e i r na t ion ' i )\: LIntent ions , in both the shor t and long ter'ms. l-loreover, . th i ]; \ ~ o v e r n m e n t ne t s y s t e i : . l ~ s c r i b e d here corrt.Lnue to yield valuableI . - ,CCI in te l l igence data - - including t h ~ . ' I: t ion systems d isc usse d in paragraph 9g. r

,

1 J ~ ~ i [ & ~ t t : i ~ ~ ~ t } ~ ~ ! i L ~ ~ ~ ~ ; ~ [ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ! 4 ~ $ ~ ~ ~ ~ I ~ i ~ : \ " : \ '.Ii \'i : r O P ' e e e R E 7 ~ i ~ j " t a ! i . : : r . r \!; I!: 3d and 9d, e , f) i I : l ~ e a s u r a b l y aids U.S. a na ly st s' s tu d ie s of Ij: I

.....~ . , : t h ~ _ a 3 F ..11 U I I \~ n a l y s t s are able to repor t I

I: on t h ~ . : : : I p a b i l i t i e s of f o r e i 9 ~ . U n . . . ill I'I" general ly . This informat ion enables planners in turn to assess jI the capabil i ty ofl b' !I:.J . Ii &nd . , , ' . 1\; t r a n s m i t t e ~ _ o m m u n i c a t i o n s i s usefu l in eva lua t ing!; ~ the performance capab i l i t i e s oi)' !:_ f!y monitor irnr..t i l ~ ~ c ~ i v i t y and othe r IIl ; _ ~ a n s m i s s i o n s and re la t ing ' it to geographic areas , the

u.S. analys t

: : ~ ' . "

, ....

..

Iii.

17

~ 'r 'ssH&

I.I:l: !:'rom t he se s ou rc es u. S. analysts , . a re able to compile reports on,.!: S i 9 n i f i c ~ d & C t i v i t ~ JI' . t:r . a n d ~ ~ v e n t s . ,Also, by monitoring t h e s ~

-" .. T ~ ~ r a n S m i S S i . ' b n S , analys t s a re ab,le to o bta in d a t a to )l........ :..J- i:.i 'i'L\.":


18/21

:.:.'

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'... : . ...,,.,...........t_,,;, .....

.. . .". ...., . , I ~ . ' I. . .,

;" _, ' ,'. . ' . ~ L"';. ..~ t ...-:.,.'11....;. .....

i.jI: 13. ( ~ ' I ' h e need to ,prote.ct agains t an y ident i f ica t ion\: ~ I',,of the target.s of in te rcept operat.ions i s equaled by th.e needto protec t agains t reveal ing th e iden t i ty of th eI: . '. sourcesi; @sclosu : : e of theI:r have e x t r e m e 1 ~ r adverse repercuss ionsLi! to the U. S. over

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19/21

,-: ...,: '

C L A S S ~ F I C A T I O N OF THE 'WITHBELD COMINT REPORTS

the s igni f icant need for openness in government against the

1 I ~ " " I I I I " . r e p o r t s relating to COMINT

likelihood of d ~ . m 3 g e to ou r nat ional security a t th is time and

remainIn conducting this review I have weighed

No meaningful portion can be segregated from th e r ecords without

properly class i f ied .o f foreign governments or SIGINT operations and, thus,

I have determined that ea ch r ecord should continueI,1:

a ctiv it ie s a t issue h e ~ e are based on intercepted communicationsH"rl.FI!,j'i!:I

revealing class i f ied information about the intercepted communi-

each portion thereof is properly classif ied under ExecutiveOrder 12065 , i t i s exempt from 'disclosure pursuant to 5 U . S ~ C .

"

" ;.,

....."}

:: .. '...

II III.These

Because e ach r ecord and

19

in tercept ion, processing and exploi t ing

that may be withheld under 5 U.S.C. 552(b) (3)" since Section 6functions and ac t iv i t i e s of NSA are par t icular t y p ~ s of matters

i! cations un.:lerlying th e CO/'IINT reports .!!.I,I, S552(b) (1) .III;!i ..15 .rof f O r e i ? ~ communications sent o . ~ : , i n t e r n a t i O n a l common car r ierl ~ fac i l i t ia} . or by government net channels are within th e COMIN'l'i. m i s ~ i o n of NSA.,j ;Iij:'-'j'I'I.r."!!

"

, II:"i,t rr


20/21

In view o f the foregoing, and in order toU)8.pro tec t ex i s t ing sens i t i ve and important foreign i n t e l l i gencesources and p ro c es si ng t ec hni qu es v i t a l to the nat ionalI: secur i ty , I cer t i fy t ha t disc losure o f pas t and p re s en t f or ei gn

r S552(b) (3) .!'

I:.I.I.L

,

~ ' ~ : ~ I ' ':.: ; . ~ l : : ~ ~ ~ .:; : ~ ; ; ; : . : ~ ~ ~ r q ~ t i : i ~ ; ~ : . ~ ~ : ~ ~ ~ : f . . ~ : : ' ' ~ ; , ; ' ~ i , ; : ; ~ i i ; : : ~ ~ ~ ~ . k ~ ~ ~ . : . . : ~ ~ ~ A ~ ~ : : : { ~ ~ ~ ~ r : ! ' ~ ? ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ..; ~ : : ~ ~ ~ t : t s ~ . : : ~ t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ l / ~ t J ~ t ~ ; ..: . ~ ~ ~ ".".:, ~ ~ : ~ .; ; J . ~ ~ ~ " ~ ~ ' : i : 1 " 5 * t i i * " W ~ ~ . s - d ' A ' g } . ; , ~ ~ @ J i i h ' t ; ~ A : - s ' - 9 ; " \ j , , . q & ' ' ' ' ' ~ t ~ i t ; ' 4 ~ : ~ ; j ; , , t i ; ' ; : a ~ ~ ....,i: " \I,; ? " ~ ~ ~ \ Q G fC giii]P -:"' '"1'' U 9 9 . W ( ~ 7 ' . R J i i & i, . . . . . . . ;d, ::0,.. " ..... ,. , -_. . . . . . . . ....._ ... v u '-'"' I'Ii f PublJ. c L -8..6:36 . th A . t f t 1 t l 'Io aw permJ.ts e gency 0 re use 0 re case 1em.,; \Ii In th i s case , the COMINT repor t s re f lec t ing those funct ions and II; ac t iv i t i e s must be withheld to avoid compromising the " ; ~ , f f i c a c ~ . . ,!: of the sourc'es of CONINT i n fo rma ti on i nvo lved . II: !:' 16. \ill/J'" Informat ion about the i nt er c ep ti on , p ro - iI! 1L cessing and exp lo i t a t ion C?f th e foreign communicat ions under- II' I!' ly ing the records being wi thheld by NSA i s c las s i f i ed information I\" concerning communications i n t e l l i gence ac t i v i t i e s o f the i, I1\ United Sta tes the II,:" unauthorized disc losure o f which i s proh ib i ted by 16 U.S.C. I

S798, paragraphs ( a) (3 ) and (a ) (4) . This informat ion becauseI; IIi it i s proh ib i ted from disc;.losure by s t a t u t e , i s exempt from I,; re lease under the FOIA pursuan t to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(3) . I'IiI! 17. (U) As s ta ted in my publ ic a f f i d av i t , t he i nf orma ti on I,; Ir t ha t would be disc losed by these records i s informat ion about iI: in t t ! l l igence sources and methods protected from unauthorized 'i",;, disc losure under 50 U .S .C . 5 403( d) (3) . The re po rts a re th er efo re Iii,

exempt from re lease under Exemption 3 of the FOIA. 5 U.S.C.iII!IiIj!I

.. .I: in to l l igence communications ac t iv i t i e s of NSA reveald in theI! records the p la in t i f f seeks would endanger highly valuableI;:: sour cea of foreign i n t e l l i gence .I; 19. (U) Fina l l y , I respec t ful ly r eques t t ha t the,I: Cour t t r e a t t hi s a ff id a v it in the same secure manner as itj; has been handled in submission to the Court, and to returnj: it to appropr iate personnel of the Department of Jus t i ceI'!' as soon as possible a f t e r review by the C ourt . The Departmenti" 20:I\'j'!j'1

.. i.i


21/21

o f J us tic e w ill re ta in c u s t o d y o f th is document under th e

-.

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.;

.t .

Ifrl2

I:: t ' l l 1 U J . . _ & . 1 t g . . : A . . . ~~ P Y E ~ E S ~ ' ~ ~ ~ - - - - - - -C h i e f , 0 ~ c e o f P o l i c y

e x p i r e s

and sworn t o b e f o r e me th iso f O c to b e r 1 9 8 0 .

,',

C o u r t ' s sea l , s u b j e c t to an y fu r ther o r d e r s o f th is C o u r tIo r an y o t h e r ' c o u r t o f c o mp e te n t jur isdict ion.

" .' jt .. ..... . .' .. \ " ~ ..... ::. ' M . ~ . o m r i i i s s i o n!!:Ii.I:LIl', I:!

i:I:Ii .. .... ...l ,Sll.b!?Cfi b e u.. ' ~ - I ~ ; ; ; . : . c } a y

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