Alliance Base

Alliance Base was the cover name for a secret Western Counterterrorist Intelligence Center (CTIC) that existed between 2002 and 2009[1] in Paris. The existence of CTICs were first revealed by Dana Priest in a November 17, 2005 article in The Washington Post,[2] while she referred to the Alliance Base in a July 2, 2005, article.[3] The name was chosen in reference of Al Qaeda, which means "The Base" in Arabic. It was headed by a French General assigned to the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), and largely funded by the CIA's Counterterrorist Center.[3] It hosted officers from Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and the United States and was used for intelligence exchange and operational planning. Its existence was confirmed on 8 September 2006 by Christophe Chaboud, chief of the UCLAT ("Unité de Coordination de la Lutte contre le Terrorisme", "Fight against Terrorism Coordination Unit"), in an interview to RFI.[4] Although intelligence exchange between intelligence agencies has become more and more widespread in the last decade, in particular following the September 11, 2001 attacks, this organisation also engaged in operations.

  1. ^ Servenay, David (24 May 2010). "Terrorisme : pourquoi Alliance Base a fermé à Paris". rue 89. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  2. ^ Foreign Network at Front of CIA's Terror Fight, Dana Priest, The Washington Post 17 November 2005 (in English)
  3. ^ a b Priest, Dana (July 3, 2005). "Help From France Key In Covert Operations". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  4. ^ La France abrite une cellule antiterroriste secrète en plein Paris, Le Monde