REPORT ON NEGOTIATIONS CONDUCTED WITH THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT RELATIVE TO A RECIPROCAL MONITORING ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN FBIS AND BBC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00765A000100010122-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 6, 2009
• Sequence Number: 122
• Publication Date: July 1, 1947
• Content Type: MEMO

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Office Memorandum ? UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
To : Chief, FBIB DATE: 1 July 1947
FROM : Assistant Director for Operations
SUBJECT: Report on Negotiations Conducted with the British Government Relative
to a Reciprocal Monitoring Arrangement between FBIB and BBC
1. For file.
2. Initiate both here and abroad such security checks as can be made
in order that we may bake a prompt move when notified "OK" by the UK.
STAT
Brigadier General, USA
Assistant Director for Operations
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 UNCLASSIFIED RESTRICTED CONFIDENTIAL
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE GROUP
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DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
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ASST. DIRECTOR. SPECIAL OPERATIONS
ASST. DIRECTOR. REPORTS & ESTIMATES
ASST. DIRECTOR. OPERATIONS
ASST. DIRECTOR, COLLECTION & DISSEMINATION
CHIEF. SECURITY BRANCH
APPROVAL 0 INFORMATION
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 UNCLASSIFIED RESTRICTED CONFIDENTIAL SECRET SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE GROUP
INTER-OFFICE ROUTING SLIP
FROM,
TO
INITIALS DATE
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DEPUTY DIRECTOR
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EXECUTIVE OFFICE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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ASST. DIRECTOR. REPORTS & ESTIMATES
ASST. DIRECTOR. OPERATIONS
ASST. DIRECTOR, COLLECTION & DISSEMINATION
CHIEF, SECURITY BRANCH
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 Office Memorandum ? UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO : Executive Director DATE: June 23, 1947
FtoM : Assistant Director for Operations
sUSJacT: Report on Negotiations Conducted with the British Government Relative
to a Reciprocal Monitoring Arrangement between FBIB and BBC
The attached report is furnished for your information and you may
perhaps wish to bring it to the attention of the Director. Please
return the report to this office when you have finished with it. I
shall keep you advised of the progress we make on this problem.
Brigadier General, USA
Assistant Director for Operations
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? SECRETi ?
SUBJECTS Report on Negotiations Conducted with the British
Government Relative to a Reciprocal Monitoring
Arrangement between FBIB and BBC.
On 7 April 1947 the Chief, FBIB, departed for London with
instructions from CIG to negotiate a reciprocal monitoring arrange-
ment with the British Government and the British Broadcasting Cor-
poration for the fiscal year 1948. The purpose of the mission was
to extend the existing incomplete monitoring exchange to a complete
world-wide interchange between the broadcast monitoring services
of both governments. Specifically, the proposal of CIG was to
obtain from the British Government agreement to the followings
a. Continuation of the war-time arrangement whereby
the European monitoring service of BBC at Caversham,
England, would make available to FBIB at no cost
the entire product of that intercept station.
be Assumption of responsibility by the British for
the handling of FBIB communications from its
Middle Pastern monitoring station to London#
a. Authorization for the transfer of the FBIB
listening post at Cairo to the British Crown
Colony Island of Cyprus in the event that the
unstable political situation in Egypt made it
necessary for operational reasons to relocate
the FBIB Cairo monitoring poet.
In return for the above considerations from the British, GIG
authorized FBIB to provide the British Monitoring Service with the
followings
a. A copy in London of the FBIB Middle Eastern
monitoring file which would be routed to London
via British facilities at the latter's expense*
be A file not to exceed 25,000 words per day of
material monitored by FBIB from the Far Bast
and Latin America. This file would be selected
by FBIB editors in Washington and transmitted
from Washington to London via U. S. Army Signal
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The above proposals were approved by the Department of State
and a letter of instruction was sent by the Department to the
American Ambassador in London advising him to give the CIG repre-
sentatives all possible assistance during the negotiations.
II. NEGOTIATIONS
The CIG proposals for reciprocity were presented formally to
the British Government by the Chief, FBIB, the Chief, CIG Comminioa-
tions Division, and the Telecommunications Attache of the American
Embassy on 12 April 1947 at a meeting with the Information Policy
Department of the Foreign Office. At this meeting it was quickly
established that the British Government had no objection in principle
to the free exchange of monitored material by the two governments.
The big problem for the British was the question of their assuming
responsibility for the FBIB Middle Eastern communications. In
connection with this, the American representatives were informed
that our proposal to establish a permanent monitoring station in
Cyprus was impractical at that time and could not be given serious
consideration by the British Government. The Middle East oomminioa-
tions problem, therefore, resolved itself to a question of whether
the British could handle the FBIB traffic over its own Signal Corps
facilities in Fayid or whether it could spend enough dollars to pay
for commercial transmission. During the next two weeks, the FBIB
proposals were discussed within the British Government, and just
prior to my departure for Cairo on 28 April 1947, I was notified
that the British had agreed in principle to handling our oomnnnioa-
tions from Cairo to London. It was agreed that they would work
out the details while I was inspecting the FBIB monitoring station
in Cairo and have the arrangement completed by the time I returned
to London.
I returned to London on 13 May and was informed by the Foreign
Office that the British could not handle FBIB oo>nioations over
its Signal Corps facilities due to a recently consummated oommxnioa-
tions treaty with the Egyptian Government. They also could not
assume the burden of transmitting our traffic over commercial
facilities because they could not afford the $90,000 necessary to
pay the Egyptian Government its fifty percent share of the traffic
tolls.
The above development left the Cyprus proposal as the only
possibility if a reciprocity arrangement were to be effected by
the two governments. At this stage of negotiations, I appealed to
the American Ambassador for assistance in obtaining high level
Foreign Office support for our negotiations. Ambassador Douglas
went immediately to see Sir One Sargent, permanent Under-Secretary
for Foreign Affairs, who gave full endorsement to the American
proposals.
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The American representatives argued that since the British
Government was vitally interested in Middle Eastern monitoring,
it would be wiser for them to permit FBIB to establish its re-
ceiving station in a politically stable area immediately rather
than continue with the unsatisfactory arrangement in Egypt. It
was obvious to me while inspecting our installation in Cairo that
the hysterical nationalism of the Egyptian Government would sooner
or later put FBIB in an untenable position. The Foreign Office
agreed to this, but the proposal had to receive the concurrence
of the Colonial Office as well as the Post Office, which allocates
space over the British owned cables and wireless comminications
system. The Colonial Office, including the Governor of Cyprus 25X1
On 11 June 1947 I wrote to Mr. A. A. Dudley, Director of the
Information Policy Department of the Foreign Office confirming in
detail the reciprocal arrangement agreeable to CIG based on a
transfer of the FBIB monitoring station from Cairo to Cyprus.
On 14 June 1947, Mr. Dudley replied to my letter stating that
subject to the security provisions mentioned above, and a final
decision from the Treasury Department on paying for the comainioa-
tions from Cyprus to London, the British Government agreed to the
American proposal. On 18 June 1947 I replied to Mr. Dudley's
letter indicating that the security stipulations required by the
British Government were agreeable to CIG and stated that FBIB
was prepared to send a survey team to the Island of Cyprus as soon
as we were notified the arrangements for the payment of traffic
from Cyprus to London had been agreed to by the Treasury Depart-
ment. Prior to my departure from London on 16 June 1947, We
Dudley had advised me informally that he anticipated no difficulty
whatsoever in obtaining the approval of the Treasury Department
for the use of pound sterling to pay for FBIB oomminioations.
III. FUTURE ACTION REQUIRED
as Wait for a favorable reply from the Foreign Office to
my letter of 18 June 1947.
b. Upon receipt of the final clearance from the Foreign
Office, dispatch a survey team of approximately four
administrative and technical personnel to Cyprus via
London to survey the Island from the standpoint of
SECREt
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determining appropriate reception sites, availability
of power supply, operational and employee housing
possibilities, availability of construction facilities
locally and other miscellaneous items for which informa-
tion will be required prior to the completion of our
detailed plans.
o. Upon the return of the survey team, we should prepare a
detailed proposal for the Projects Review Committee to
obtain its decision as to whether FBIB should move from
Cairo to Cyprus. It is imperative that this survey be
made as quickly as possible since FBIB must continue
to use commercial communications facilities at the rate
of $15,000 per month for every month it must remain in
Cairo*
d. Start a selected file of FBIB Far Eastern and Latin
American intercepts to BBC London via Army Signal
Corps channels as soon as a favorable reply is received
from the Foreign Office. (The Signal Corps notified
the Director, CIG, on 17 December 1946 that it could
handle up to 25,000 words per day of this traffic.)
IV. APPSNTDIX
Attached for ready reference are the following letters:
a. Letter dated 11 June 1947.from Chief, FBIB, to Director,
Information Policy Department, Foreign Office.
b. Letter dated 14 June 1947 from Director, Information
Policy Department, Foreign Office, to Chief, FBIB@
o. Letter dated 16 June 1947 from Chief, FBIB, to Director,
Information Policy Department, Foreign Office.
d. Memorandum dated 17 December 1946 from Chief Signal
Officer, War Department, to Director, Central Intelli-
gence Group.
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