Alliance Base is the cover name for a secret Western Counterterrorist Intelligence Center (CTIC) established in 2002 in Paris. The existence of CTICs were first revealed by Dana Priest in a 17 November 2005 Washington Post article ^[1], while she referred to the Alliance Base in a July 2, 2005 article ^[2]. The name was chosen in reference of Al Qaeda, which means "The Base" in Arabic. It is headed by a French General assigned to the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE), the French equivalent of the CIA, and largely funded by the CIA's Counterterrorist Center ^[2]. It hosts officers from Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and the United States and is used for intelligence exchange and operational planning. First revealed by The Washington Post in 2005, its existence was confirmed on 8 September 2006 by Christophe Chaboud, chief of the UCLAT ("Unité de Coordination de la Lutte contre le Terrorisme", "Fight against Terrorism Coordination Unit"), in an interview to RFI ^[3]. Although intelligence exchange between intelligence agencies has become more and more widespread in the last decade, in particular following the September 11, 2001 attacks, this base also engages in operations. A Counterterrorist Intelligence Center (CTIC) is, according to a Washington Post front page article of November 18, 2005, a counterterrorist operations center run jointly by the CIA and foreign intelligence services as part of the Global War on Terror. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Dana Priest is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. ... ... Al-Qaeda or al-Qaida or al-Qaida ( , trans. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Logo of Francess Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE) / General Directorate for External Security. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... Radio France Internationale logo Radio France Internationale (RFI) was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France to serve as a broadcast vehicle for French Equatorial Africa. ... Intelligence is a property of mind that encompasses many related mental abilities, such as the capacities to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... An intelligence agency is a governmental organization devoted to gathering of information by means of espionage (spying), communication interception, cryptoanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public sources. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly...

International cooperation between intelligence agencies

Its existence was first revealed by a 17 November, 2005 article by Dana Priest in The Washington Post, who also broke the story concerning the existence of the CIA's "black sites" ^[1]. In the article, both the CIA and the French government declined to comment on Alliance Base, while all intelligence officers requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the project, in particular relating to its political and judicial dimensions. "No country wanted to be perceived as taking direction from the CIA," wrote Dana Priest, while France was the only European state willing to engage in more than simple information exchange. "To play down the U.S. role, the center's working language is French," told an anonymous source to the Washington Post investigative reporter. "The base selects its cases carefully, chooses a lead country for each operation, and that country's service runs the operation." Furthermore, this cooperation permits "German case officers to read information from their own country's law enforcement authorities", which is prohibited by German law ^[1]. Dana Priest is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. ... The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... The salt pit in Afghanistan Black site is a military term that has been used by United States intelligence agencies to refer to any classified facility that is officially denied by the US government. ... Motto: In varietate concordia 2 Anthem: Ode to Joy 3 Commission seat Brussels Official languages 23 Member states 27 Presidencies  - Commission José Manuel Barroso  - Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering  - Council Frank-Walter Steinmeier  - European Council Germany Formation    - Treaty of Rome 25 March 1957   - Maastricht Treaty 7 February 1992  Area  - Total... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Alliance Base also takes advantage of the "harsh laws" of France concerning anti-terrorism. French magistrates are allowed to detain people suspected of "conspiracy in relation to terrorism" while gathering evidence. According to the top anti-terrorist magistrate, Jean-Louis Bruguière, he has in the past ordered the arrest of more than 500 suspects, some with the assistance of US authorities ^[1]. Dana Priest cited him as saying: "I have good connections with the CIA and FBI." Dana Priest described the working of Alliance Base, writing that "The CIA brings money from its classified and ever-growing 'foreign liaison' account — it has paid to transport some of France's suspects from abroad into Paris for legal imprisonment' [thus rendering them to France] — and its global eavesdropping capabilities and worldwide intelligence service ties." France, on the other hand, "brings its harsh laws, surveillance of radical Muslim groups and their network in Arab states, and its intelligence links to its former colonies. ^[1]" Anti-terrorism legislation designs all types of laws passed in the purported aim of fighting terrorism. ... Jean-Louis Bruguière is a French judge. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... In law, rendition is a surrender or handing over of persons or property, particularly from one jurisdiction to another. ...

By handing out information to its counterparts, French intelligence agencies helped the US to convict Ahmed Ressam, arrested in 1999, as well as Zacarias Moussaoui, who lived a long time in France ^[1]. This photograph of Ahmed Ressam was seen on televisions across the U.S. following his arrest. ... Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic: زكريا موسوي) (born May 30, 1968) is a French citizen of Moroccan descent who was convicted of conspiring to kill Americans as part of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. ...

In the days following the attacks, President Jacques Chirac issued an edict to French secret services ordering them to share information with US counterparts "as if they were your own service," according to two officials who read it and were cited by Dana Priest. According to the Washington Post investigative reporter, the arrest of Christian Ganczarski, alleged to be an important Al Qaeda responsible, was one of the 12 major operations it has engaged in during its first years. Since the end of 2001, France has detained about 60 suspects, some with the help of the CIA, according to a CIA veteran cited by Priest ^[1]. Jacques René Chirac (born November 29, 1932) has served as the President of France since he was first elected in 1995. ... France has various intelligence agencies: the Direction centrale des renseignements généraux (RG) is the intelligence agency of the French police, directed by the Minister of Interior. ... Christian Ganczarski is a German citizen, who converted to Islam who is one of the individuals who has been described as the head of al Qaeda in Europe. Ganczarski was captured when a plane he was travelling on landed in France Reference ↑  French Allege Detained German Is Top Al Qaeda...

Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, director of the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST), said "There's an easy exchange of information. The cooperation between my service and the American service is candid, loyal and certainly effective." Jean-Louis Brugière, on the other hand, was quoted by Dana Priest as saying that "The relations between intelligence agencies in the United States and France has been good, even during the transatlantic dispute over Iraq, for practical reasons. ^[1]" The Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST; Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) is a directorate of the French National Police operating as a domestic intelligence agency. ...

Christian Ganczarski and Ahmed Medhi

Christian Ganczarski, a German convert to Islam, took an Air France flight from Riyadh on June 3, 2003, back to Germany, with a change of planes in Paris. But he was secretly followed on board by an undercover officer. In Paris' airport, a senior CIA officer was waiting for him, while French authorities separated him from his family and arrested him, on charges of association with terrorists. This operation was conceived at the Alliance Base ^[1]. Christian Ganczarski is a German citizen, who converted to Islam who is one of the individuals who has been described as the head of al Qaeda in Europe. Ganczarski was captured when a plane he was travelling on landed in France Reference ↑  French Allege Detained German Is Top Al Qaeda... Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM. Before its merger with KLM, it was the national airline of France, employing 71,654 people (as of January 2005). ... Riyadh (Arabic: ‎ ar-Riyāḍ) is the capital of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located in Ar Riyad Province in the Najd region. ...

On 20 May, 2003, Alliance Base learned that Ahmed Mehdi, who lived near Ganczarksi in Germany, was about to travel for a 14-day vacation to La Réunion, a French island in the Pacific Ocean. Although the German BND thought that he was planning an attack, they had not enough evidence to arrest him. The CIA arranged someone to suggest that Mehdi stop in Paris on his way to La Réunion. The French services clandestinely helped him to have a visa, while the Germans monitored calls and contacts. On June 1, 2003, he was arrested by French authorities at Charles de Gaulle International Airport and sent to Fresnes Prison. Two days later, Ganczarksi was also there ^[1]. Réunion is an island and overseas département (département doutre-mer, or DOM) of France, located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, about 200 km southwest of Mauritius. ... BND may stand for: Buy Nothing Day Bundesnachrichtendienst, German intelligence agency Brunei dollar (ISO currency code) Black Nocturnal Darkness, Dutch black metal band This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The new logo of Aéroports de Paris used since 6 June 2005 Charles de Gaulle International Airport (IATA: CDG, ICAO: LFPG) (French: ), also known as Roissy Airport (or just Roissy in French), in Paris, is one of Europes principal aviation centres, as well as Frances main international... Fresnes Prison (Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes) is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne near the city of Paris. ...

Following interrogations of both men, investigators now suspected that they had links with the Hamburg cell which plotted the September 11 attacks. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy implicitly refers to Alliance Base on June 11, 2003, declaring to the National Assembly that "This arrest took place thanks to the perfect collaboration between the service of the great democracies."^[1] It was at this Marienstraße apartment where many of the September 11 conspirators met to plan their futures. ... Nicolas Sarkozy speaking at the congress of his party Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (born 28 January 1955 in Paris, 17th arrondissement), simply known as Nicolas Sarkozy ( —  ), is a French politician, the second son of a Hungarian father, Paul Sárközy de Nagy-Bocsa, and... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ...

John MCLaughin, former director of the CIA said that the cooperation between the DGSE and the CIA "is one the best of the world". The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...

References

Dana Priest is an author and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. ... The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... Le Monde is also the name of a song by the Thievery Corporation. ...

See also

• Abu Ali al-Harithi, shot in Yemen with six others by a Predator drone commanded from Langley and based in a French military base in Djibouti