Pine Gap: Close to God's Ear: NSA Eavesdropping Memoirs

by David Rosenberg

In 1966, The United States and Australia signed a treaty that allowed the establishment of a jointly-run satellite tracking station just south of Alice Springs. The station became known as Pine Gap. For more than 50 years it has operated in a shroud of secrecy and has been the target of much public and political controversy. In this fascinating glimpse into the top-secret world of military surveillance, discover how the fallout of controversies such as the Edward Snowden leaks have made the ethics of eavesdropping more important than ever.

Pine Gap is the first book of its kind – an accurate report of what happens within the secure walls of an NSA satellite ground site, from an insider's perspective. A firsthand account from someone who held a Top Secret security clearance allowing him into the "nerve center" of Pine Gap - Operations, it is a rare publication—written by an NSA officer about his experience in the field. The book exposes the NSA's overseas operation in Australia and required both United States and a foreign government's approval to publish.

Pine Gap details the NSA's signals intelligence operations at a satellite ground site, and David Rosenberg is the first to speak out about this type of intelligence collection, providing an insider's account of the eavesdropping mission at Pine Gap and the partnership between the United States and Australia that has made Pine Gap the most important satellite ground site in the Intelligence Community.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

Pine Gap is the story about the NSA's most important satellite ground site, as well as my experience of working for the NSA for 23 years, 18 of which were spent at Pine Gap. Writing the initial draft of the book came easily, as I followed a common rule of authors - write about what you know. But with publication nearing, the obstacles and challenges of living a secret life presented themselves in myriad ways, as the NSA and three other intelligence organizations became alarmed at what I might reveal. Nothing scared them more than a book that might disrupt the close working relationship between the United States and Australia at Pine Gap. The Base had been in Alice Springs for over four decades, and not one single person with a Top Secret security clearance and full access to the 'nerve center' of Operations had dared to write about what happens inside the facility's secure walls. It appeared to be just too difficult - signals intelligence veterans would think to themselves, 'They won't let me write anything!' As well, I was under a lifetime agreement with the Agency to have all written material screened prior to publication. Immediately upon receiving my first draft, I was quickly put on a plane to Canberra for a secure video conference with senior US and Australian officials. I then spent the next 18 months in discussions with not one, but four intelligence agencies as to what I could write. In the end, I was amazed at what they let me retain, much of which I was sure would be redacted. I hope you enjoy reading about a place that has become a recognizable part of the Australian landscape, and the incredible partnership that exists between the Australians and Americans at Pine Gap.

Reviews

[Thoraiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a joke going around the interwebs that is variations on this phone conversation:

Boyfriend: You hang up first.
Girlfriend: You hang up first!
Boyfriend: No, you hang up!
Girlfriend: No, you hang up!
NSA: Both of you hang up.

What I want to know is why we needed Edward Snowden to tell us we were being spied on.

"..everything transmitting in the electromagnetic spectrum had become fair game for collection..." - p80

"Inside Pine Gap" is the story of David Rosenberg's career. Until recently he was employed by the NSA at Pine Gap, Australia, which is a satellite-tracking station plonked in the middle of our continent so that nobody can sail a boat up to it and eavesdrop.

There's nothing wrong with this book, except perhaps for the fact of the author's unequivocal acceptance that one American life is worth thousands of Other lives (which makes it kind of hilarious at the end when applying for Australian residency disqualifies him from his security clearance..."Security made it sound like I was applying for residency in Iran" he complains - p161)

So, yeah, apart from the fact that he can't understand why Pine Gap is responsible for civilian deaths in Iraq even though it can't actually fire any missiles, our narrator is a likeable nerd whose adventures are easy to read and who excels at "looking at data".

(BOY is there a lot of data-looking in this book.)

(MMMM DATA.)

Desmond Ball's blurb calls this "a revealing book", but it really isn't. Rosenberg was made to rewrite it to the point of blandness in many places.

He looks at data, he sees something he didn't expect when previously looking at similar data! He interprets the data and makes a report!

How shocking that details like these were not censored prior to publication. Not.

Nonetheless, an interesting story about the supporting role of Pine Gap in various American conflicts over the past few decades.

[Kuno · Rating 1 out of 5]

Autobiography of a guy you won't have heard of revealing nothing of interest. Glad I only paid a dollar for a signed copy at the local Salvos.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many interesting aspects of this book. Unfortunately they were well hidden amongst less interesting areas of writing. The afterword was especially woeful.

[Nathan Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat disappointed in this book. It proclaims a lot but does very little to add to the discourse related to Pine Gap. Appears to be a glaring (and successful) attempt at misdirection and ultimately, it reads as an attempt by the author to justify his experience and existence - approximately 75% relates to the author’s life and ‘feelings’. There is a lot more going on that the author either wasn’t privy too or wasn’t able to reveal. Don’t waste your money - much more can be learned from open sources.

[Damo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read. Very poignant and full of interesting and truthful facts as well as portraying the difficulties of not only shift work life, but doing it abroad from your home country. I would read this again.

[Bri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into the Pine Gap base in Central Australia.

[Alex Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, revealing, and pretty credible read, though not very well written. The afterword is especially badly written.

[Oskar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book but at first, the beginning of the story of David was a little dry, but the rest of the book more than made up for it