A newly leaked document shows that the US National Security Agency has been sharing intelligence with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
The US National Security Agency (NSA) last year significantly expanded its intelligence cooperation with Saudi Arabia, one of the worlds most repressive and abusive regimes, a newly leaked document shows. <\/p>\n
An April 2013 top secret memo provided to The Intercept by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, details the NSAs plans to provide direct analytic and technical support on Internal security matters for the Saudi Ministry of Interior (MOI) and Saudi Ministry of Defense (MOD). <\/p>\n
The memo describes a period of rejuvenation for the NSAs relationship with the Saudis, as part of the Obama administrations effort to enhance relations with the Saudi regime, The Intercept reports. <\/p>\n
One secret 2007 NSA memo lists Saudi Arabia as one of four countries where the US has [an] interest in regime continuity, indicating that US support for Riyadh has existed for years. <\/p>\n
However, the leaked memo shows that in December 2012, James Clapper, the US Director of National Intelligence, authorized the NSA to expand its third party relationship with Saudi Arabia to include the sharing of signals intelligence, or SIGINT, capability with the MODs Technical Affairs Directorate (TAD). <\/p>\n
With the approval of the Third Party SIGINT relationship, the memo reports, the NSA intends to provide direct analytic and technical support to TAD. The goal is to facilitate the Saudi governments ability to utilize SIGINT to locate and track individuals of mutual interest within Saudi Arabia. <\/p>\n
Even before this new initiative in 2012, the NSA and CIA had been working with the Saudi regime to bolster Internal security and track alleged terrorists, the memo shows. <\/p>\n
The NSAs formal Third Party relationship with the Saudis involves arming the Saudi Ministry of Defense with highly advanced surveillance technology. The NSA provides technical advice on SIGINT topics such as data exploitation and target development to TAD, the memo says, as well as a sensitive source collection capability. <\/p>\n
According to the document, the intelligence collaboration between Washington and Riyadh has been like a two-way street, with both countries sharing information they secretly collect. <\/p>\n
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