| http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,3604,518017,00.html
Intelligent sharing Why Menwith Hill and Cyprus are linked Leader Saturday July 7, 2001 The Guardian The connection between Britain's sovereign bases in Cyprus, the US National Security Agency's listening post at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire, and the Pentagon's plans for anti-ballistic missile defence may not be immediately obvious. But it exists all the same. The Dhekelia and Akrotiri facilities are in the spotlight after Cypriots resorted to violent demonstrations over plans to erect new communications antennae. The protests may well be justified on environmental grounds; and concern about electro-magnetic radiation hazards is not confined to Cyprus. That the Cypriot government has backed Britain in denouncing the protests stems in part from its EU membership aspirations - but also because it knows how important are these listening posts to US-led intelligence gathering in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Iran. The British bases are staging posts for humanitarian operations, a big source of income to the local economy, and a theoretical guarantee, at least, against Turkish expansionism. But spying is a primary task. Menwith Hill, and Fylingdales, perform a not entirely dissimilar role in gathering intelligence - specifically, in giving early warning of aggressive intent by potential enemies. Unlike Britain's Cyprus bases, they are not sovereign US territory. But there should be no mistake who is in charge. This week's well-con-ducted Greenpeace "invasion" of Menwith Hill has placed an unwelcome (from the government's standpoint) spotlight on them, too. Unwelcome because one or both are likely to be drawn into the first stage missile defence plan that the Bush administration seems determined to implement before the 2004 US election. Britain uses the intelligence it gathers via Cyprus to trade with America's own international surveillance apparatus. If the British bases were not already there, it is a safe bet the Americans would have built some of their own. Likewise, the Yorkshire facilities earn barter points in Washington. The payback includes crucial American support for maintaining Britain's supposedly independent nuclear deterrent. But unavoidable choices are looming for Britain. As the EU moves to pool intelligence, particularly for its rapid reaction force, this cosy, sharing relationship with Washington will be increasingly challenged, not least by France. And as opposition to missile defence proliferates, Labour will have to be lot more intelligent about intelligence. |
