VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHAK #2162/01 3591306
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241306Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8294
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RULSJGA/COMDT COGARD
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNEXC/EXPORT CONTROL AND RELATED BORDER SECURITY
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC
UNCLAS ANKARA 002162
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR NP/ECC- YWONG, ACHURCH, BGOLDEN, JBALDWIN
DEPT FOR EUR/ACE- KFITZPATRICK, BHUNT, PMALIK
DOE/NNSA- TPERRY, LPARKER, EDESCHLER
CBP/INA- TBAILEY, BPICKETT
DOC FOR DCREED
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETTC KNNP KSTC MNUC PARM PREL TU
SUBJECT: EXBS: TURKEY ADVISORS MONTHLY REPORT- (NOVEMBER
2008)
Sensitive but unclassified. Please handle appropriately.
1. Summary: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports
Turkish Nonproliferation interagency continues to review
findings and recommendations of September EXBS and
Nonproliferation Seminar. EXBS TDY Advisor Kevin Cummings
and EXBS Coordinator accompanied five senior Turkish Customs
Enforcement officials on VIP visit to DHS/CBP to DHS/CBP and
DOE Headquarters, Harpers Ferry and FLETC Training Centers,
and U.S. Customs Ports of Entry in San Diego and JFK Airport.
End Summary.
2. Completed Actions for the Reporting Period:
A. Meetings During Recent Reporting Period by EXBS Advisor
and Coordinator:
1) Nov 5 - EXBS Advisor Cieslinski met with MFA Department
Head for Nonproliferation and Disarmament Elif Ulgen to
discuss interagency reaction to the EXBS and nonproliferation
seminar which was held in September. Ulgun noted that the
interagency was very satisfied with the seminar as a whole
and that each Turkish agency believed meeting their US
counterparts and hearing about U.S. nonproliferation programs
was very useful. Ulgen said the interagency would still need
to meet several times further before MFA could provide their
combined recommendations and requests for future engagement
with the USG under the Nonproliferation Agreement.
2) Nov 10 - EXBS Advisor attended a forum for the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Dual Use
procedures at the Middle East Technical University where MFA
and Undersecretariate of Foreign Trade (UFT) officials
provided EU participants with an overview of Turkey's Export
Control processes. Both UFT and MFA provided the same
presentations that were given at the EXBS Nonproliferation
Seminar.
3) Nov 12 - EXBS Coordinator and Turkish Customs Enforcement
delegation departed Turkey for Washington DC. The Turkish
delegation consisted of Mr. Neset AKKOC, Director General of
Customs Enforcement; Mr. Ali BAYRAKDAROGLU, Advisor to State
Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Turkish Customs; Mr.
Eyup GONULTAS, Chief of Customs Enforcement Controller; Mr.
Mehmet AKILLI, Head of Anti Smuggling and Narcotics
Department; and Mr. Abdullah SOYLU, Head of Personnel
Department. Delegation was met in Washington by Mr. Kevin
Cummings (TDY EXBS Advisor) and Ms. Teresa Bailey (DHS/CBP
Program manager for Turkey) who accompanied the delegation to
all U.S. locations.
4) Nov 13 - Delegation met with Mr. William Tobey, Deputy
Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation and his
staff at DOE/NNSA. Mr. Tobey presented his colleagues to the
delegation and gave a short briefing about NNSA organization
and current program objectives of cooperation from the SLD
program. Mr. Akkoc thanked Tobey for the SLD program
offerings for Turkey, but added that he was not the decision
maker on this program and they would discuss the issue
together with MFA and TAEK internally and inform Embassy
Ankara of any decision reached for further cooperation.
The delegation departed DOE for DHS/CBP where they met with
Mr. Allen Gina, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy
Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Intelligence and
Operations Coordination (OIOC). Mr. Gina provided a brief
overview of the CBP organization, planned delegation
itinerary, and reviewed limitations on CBP acquired "mobile"
equipment which failed to meet CBP's requirements.
Delegation visited the National Targeting Center (NTC) in
Reston, Virginia and met with the NTC representatives. They
were briefed on the NTC operations in detail and then taken
to NTC operation "nerve" center. The delegation was told that
there were officers and analysts available 7/24 to respond to
any RIID alarms all around the country. NTC representatives
demonstrated the personal radiation detection pagers, RII
devices and the software they used at the center. NTC
representatives briefed the delegation about the operations
in the port of Kasim in Pakistan, and showed the delegation
how they used cameras and x-ray machines remotely to monitor
container inspections. The delegation was satisfied with the
NTC visit and they discussed how to setup such a targeting
center for both passengers and cargo in Turkey that would
include officials from TAEK and Ministry of Interior
organizations.
5) Nov 14 - The Delegation visited CBP's Advanced Training
Center in Harper,s Ferry in West Virginia. A detailed
briefing was presented by Director Jim Cobb about the
facility and their future expansion projects. The delegation
visited tactical facilities and expressed an interest in
acquiring training materials for physical training (training
items such as batons, knifes, guns, etc). The delegation
also expressed an interest in sending some of their officers
to this facility for advanced training. No commitments where
made.
6) Nov 16 - The delegation departed Washington DC and
arrived Jacksonville Airport in Georgia. Transportation was
provided by CBP from airport to Brunswick to visit Federal
Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).
7) Nov 17 - The delegation arrived FLETC and received a
comprehensive briefing about the facility by the Academy
staff. They were very satisfied with the visit and noted it
was good for them to see that different government law
enforcement agencies receive their basic training in one
centralized training center. They also visited a mock port of
entry and saw the entrance process at land borders and
airport arrivals. They expressed interest to send Turkish
Customs Officers for basic training at FLETC as well. The
delegation departed FLETC in the afternoon for Charleston,
South Carolina.
8) Nov 18 - The delegation visited the Customs Port of
Charleston, SC and was welcomed by Ms. Joanne Fogg, Area Port
Director. She provided an overview of CBP,s layered
enforcement strategy and seaport security efforts. While
there, the delegation visited the Wando Welch Terminal. Port
authorities presented non-intrusive technologies (NII) and
radiation portal monitors (RPM) that they use during their
daily operations. The delegation was very interested in the
VACIS (Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System) demonstration.
DG AKKOC expressed his interest for acquiring this type of
equipment for Turkish Customs. The delegation also saw a
demonstration of the radiation portal monitors used for
detecting radioactive materials and how secondary inspections
were carried out with hand held devices (i.e. RIIDs) and
x-ray machines. They also toured the unified cargo
enforcement inspection (Customs Examination Station-CES)
facilities situated separately from the port of entries. They
were briefed about the agricultural products and intellectual
property right (IPR) issues. The delegation found it useful
to see a separate centralized secondary inspection facility
for all inbound cargo inspected by specialized staff (e,g,
agricultural officers, K-9 unit). The delegation departed
Charleston for San Diego.
9) Nov 19 - Delegation visited San Ysidro Port of Entry
(POE)/Chula Vista Border Patrol Station. They were met by the
port director and provided an overview of their daily
operations. The delegation was then provided an facility
tour by border patrol agents and received briefings on border
patrol operations between various border zones (zones 1-15)
and saw both radiation portal monitors for passenger vehicles
and the VACIS system for the railroad POE. The delegation
then visited the Chula Vista Border Patrol Station. They
received information about the ground sensors and alarm
signals used to monitor remote border locations and were
informed about the measures taken by the dispatchers
concerning active alarms. They also visited the operations
center and watched examples of previous operations and
observed zooming and night vision capabilities of the
regional cameras.
10) Nov 21 - The delegation departed San Diego for New York.
11) Nov 22 - The delegation visited CBP's JFK Cargo
Operations Center. Mr. Richard B. O,Connell, Assistant Area
Director, and his colleagues briefed the delegation about
airport cargo operations. They visited K-9 facilities at the
airport and warehouses for inbound cargo. CBP officers
demonstrated the use of detection equipment (Mobile x-ray
machine, fiber-optic scope etc.) and briefed them on how CBP
used this equipment during their daily operations on
inspecting aircraft (both passenger and cargo). The
delegation was interested in obtaining the mobile van x-ray
machines in order to use them during the summer time in busy
international airports and sea ports in Turkey. They also
mentioned to use this mobile equipment in remote ports of
entry in southern and eastern parts of Turkey.
12) Nov 24 - The delegation departed the U.S. for Ankara.
Overall, Turkish Customs Officials felt the visit was a
complete success and DHS/CBP provided them with the required
access and comprehensive overview of training and equipment
which will allow GOT to enhance their Customs Enforcement
practices and infrastructure in Turkey. DG Akkoc also noted
that he would like to have his Undersecretariate for Customs
visit the U.S. in the coming year, as he believes this will
assist them with the upcoming restructuring of Turkey's
Border Management System, which is still in its early stages.
B. Training Conducted During this Reporting Period: - None.
C. Equipment Delivered During this Reporting Period: None.
D. Imminent Training or Equipment Status Update: None.
E. Significant Developments in Export Controls,
Nonproliferation, or Related Border Security: None.
3. Future Activities:
-- EXBS Advisor and Coordinator will begin routine border
visits commencing with the Febuary 2009 visit to the
Turkish/Syrian Customs Port of Entry at Cilegozu land border
and the Customs maritime Port of Mesin.
-- The GOT Export Control Board (an interagency working group
with a focus on export controls and nonproliferation) will
convene December 24. We anticipate the MFA to provide us
with a consolidated list of requests from the Turkish
interagency in early January.
4. Red Flag Issues: None.
5. Contact information for EXBS Program Ankara is: Robert
Cieslinski, EXBS Advisor, Email: CieslinskiRL@state.gov,
Office (90) (312) 457-7210, Cell (90) (533) 716-4808 and
Erhan Mert, EXBS Coordinator, Email: MertE2@state.gov,
Office(90)312 457-7059, Cell (90) (533) 264-8407. EXBS
Program Office Fax (90) (312) 468-4775.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey
Jeffrey