US embassy cable - 05MADRID2833

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 002833 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO EUR/WE 
EUR/ERA FOR CHASE AND SAARNIO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, EAIR, SP, EUN, Counterterrorism 
SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY: DHS U/S BEARDSWORTH MEETS WITH 
SPANISH OFFICIALS ABOUT PASSENGER NAME RECORDS 
 
REF: A. MADRID 2792 
     B. BRUSSELS 2775 
 
This is a corrected copy of MADRID 2792 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
Acting Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security 
Randy Beardsworth visited Madrid July 19 to brief Spanish 
Ministry of Interior (MOI) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
(MFA) officials regarding the value of Passenger Name Record 
(PNR) data as a tool for combating terrorism.  In his 
meetings with Spanish officials, U/S Beardsworth highlighted 
the positive uses of PNR data.  The goal of these meetings 
was to spread an appreciation of how PNR data helps achieve 
our mutual interest of denying terrorists freedom of travel 
while protecting privacy and facilitating the legitimate 
movement of people and goods across international borders. 
He also discussed the No Fly (NF) list and dispelled myths 
regarding NF diversions. 
 
2. (U) In separate meetings July 19, U/S Beardsworth met with 
Antonio Camacho, Deputy Minister of Interior, and Angel 
Losada, Director General for International Terrorism, 
Non-Proliferation and Disarmament at the MFA.  End Summary. 
 
3. (SBU) At both the Ministry of Interior and the MFA, U/S 
Beardsworth stressed the potential of PNR data to help U.S. 
and European authorities strengthen border security and deny 
terrorists freedom of movement.  He explained how PNR data 
detects relationships between passengers and acts as an 
important forensic tool in the wake of terrorist attacks. U/S 
Beardsworth showed how DHS used PNR to identify travel 
agencies that use false documents to facilitate travel by 
illegitimate passengers and how PNR had contributed to the 
Lodi, California terrorism investigation.   He also briefed 
GOS officials on his meetings in Brussels (reftel B) and 
Berlin and on the upcoming U.S.-EU joint PNR review in 
September.  U/S Beardsworth reviewed the USG's experience 
with the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) and its 
use with respect to the U.S. No Fly list, noting that DHS had 
avoided flight diversions in all but a very few cases.  He 
said the international community should work towards limiting 
the ability of terrorists to move freely across borders, just 
as we had cooperated to restrict their access to the 
international financial system. 
 
//INTERIOR MINISTRY VOICES PRIVACY CONCERNS// 
 
4. (SBU) U/S Beardsworth met with Deputy Interior Minister 
Camacho, who was accompanied by chief of staff Victoria 
Sanchez Sanchez, Director General for Infrastructure and 
Secure Materials (Schengen) Julio Martinez Merono, Senior 
Diplomatic Adviser Ambassador Arturo Avello, Senior Terrorism 
Adviser Juan Hidalgo, International Affairs Adviser Jose 
Ignacio Lopez Chicheri, and PNR adviser Luis Aparicio. 
 
5. (SBU) Mr. Camacho expressed appreciation for the briefing 
and said he was familiar with the topic as a result of 
numerous discussions on the subject with EU counterparts. 
Camacho said that one issue that seemed to undermine the 
value of PNR was that many of the perpetrators of recent 
attacks (September 11, the March 11, 2004 Madrid train 
bombings, and the July 7 attacks in London) were unknown and 
their names would not have emerged from any database. 
Camacho argued that while some argued that democracies would 
have to "modify" themselves to counter new security threats, 
Spain believed it was important that existing privacy 
provisions remain intact.  He said that one of the 
terrorists' objectives was to force democratic societies to 
clamp down on their citizens and that Spain rejected any such 
approach.  In the case of the London attacks, said Camacho, 
the bombers came from within the UK's borders, diminishing 
the value of preventive programs such as PNR. 
 
6. (SBU) U/S Beardsworth said that privacy protection was 
just as important an issue in the U.S. as it was in the EU 
and that controls on the use of PNR data were intended to 
address sensibilities on both sides of the Atlantic.   He 
reviewed the tight procedures surrounding use of PNR data to 
meet privacy concerns and the fact that PNR data did not flow 
to the intelligence community.  These safeguards include 
filters and audit functions to ensure that data is protected 
and not accessible by individuals who would not have a direct 
need for the information.  Also, PNR does not allow the user 
to look beyond the surface of the information provided for a 
particular traveler; more detailed reviews required the same 
court authority as would apply to any law enforcement 
investigation. 
 
7. (SBU) Regarding the relevance of PNR as a tool for 
detecting impending attacks, U/S Beardsworth explained that 
PNR data may have proved very useful in helping detect 
patterns and associations that could have drawn the attention 
of law enforcement officials to the attackers in the cases 
cited by Camacho.  In the London attacks, for example, 
several of the suicide bombers had traveled to Pakistan and 
PNR data related to their visits may have been helpful to 
police.  U/S Beardsworth said that while UK officials could 
subpoena case-specific PNR data related to a single 
individual, they were not able to draw the broad associations 
and connections made possible by the U.S. PNR database.  U/S 
Beardsworth explained that, in response to the recent 
terrorist incident in London on July 7, a PNR database 
algorithm based on intelligence was configured in a matter of 
hours that was tailored to identify high risk passengers 
bound for the U.S. from the UK. 
 
8. (SBU) Camacho said that the GOS agreed with the USG in 
"nearly all respects" regarding the struggle against 
terrorism and specifically on the use of PNR data.  He asked 
U/S Beardsworth whether DHS had a specific request for Spain 
on PNR.  U/S Beardsworth said that he had included Spain, 
Germany, and France on his agenda because of their high level 
of counter-terrorism cooperation with the USG.  The USG hoped 
that Spain would be an advocate in EU councils for closer 
U.S.-EU collaboration on PNR.  Camacho said that Spain would 
be helpful and suggested that PNR be a topic for further 
discussion during the September meeting of the DHS-Ministry 
of Interior Working Group in Washington. 
 
 
//MFA UNDERSTANDS THE ISSUE// 
 
9. (SBU) U/S Beardsworth met separately with newly named MFA 
Director General for International Terrorism Issues and 
Disarmament Angel Losada, who was accompanied by Deputy 
Director General for European Justice and Interior Issues 
Felix Fernandez-Shaw and Losada's adviser on international 
counterterrorism cooperation Carmen Bujan Freire.  Losada 
indicated a general understanding of PNR, but requested 
specific details as to its value as a deterrent for 
international travel by terrorist suspects.  U/S Beardsworth 
cited the KLM/Mexico case (APIS information, not PNR) where, 
regardless of the purported intentions of the travelers, the 
USG made clear that it was monitoring movements by suspected 
extremists and was prepared to deny them access to U.S. 
airspace.  This approach was has a deterrent effect and PNR 
contributes to our ability to deny terrorists the ability to 
travel freely. 
 
10. (SBU) On U.S.-EU PNR cooperation, U/S Beardsworth 
discussed his meetings in Brussels with members of the 
European Parliament Civil Liberties (LIBE) Committee (reftel 
B) and his assessment that he had made progress in explaining 
privacy protection guidelines associated with PNR. 
Fernandez-Shaw said he was well aware of the LIBE Committee's 
concerns and assured U/S Beardsworth that the GOS understands 
that PNR does not violate any data protection guidelines.  He 
lamented that U.S.-EU discussions on PNR were being mixed up 
with an internal EU debate regarding personal data and 
privacy protections.  Fernandez-Shaw agreed with the need to 
clarify the details of PNR in order to respond to the LIBE 
Committee.  Freire emphasized this point as well, saying that 
governments had to explain to NGOs and to their publics that 
they had established firm parameters regarding the use of 
personal data.  She suggested that the London bombings may 
help crystallize public opinion in favor of increased 
security measures. 
 
11. (U) U/S Beardsworth was accompanied by Policy Advisor 
Dennis Sequeira of the DHS Office International Affairs, 
Policy Advisor Erik Shoberg of the DHS Office of Customs and 
Border Protection, TSA Liaison Jill Drury of USEU, and 
Executive Assistant David von Damm. 
AGUIRRE