EXBS: TURKEY ADVISORS MONTHLY REPORT- (NOVEMBER

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