Stare Kiejkuty (base)
Encyclopedia
On the territory village of Stare Kiejkuty
, Poland
, is a restricted military area that is the seat of (postal service name, simply) Jednostka Wojskowa 2669 (military unit 2669), Ośrodek Szkolenia Agencji Wywiadu
(Agencja Wywiadu Intelligence Agency Training Center)" Since 2005 it has attracted scrutiny as being a black site
involved in the CIA's program of extraordinary rendition
.
(the intelligence service of the SS
) and Abwehr
. The airstrip that would later be expanded into the modern Szczytno-Szymany International Airport
, 20 km away, originally served as a landing strip for Luftwaffe
planes for bombing raids on Warsaw
. In 1968 it would be used by the Soviet Army
to plan operations to crush the Prague Spring
.
Its use by Polish intelligence dates to the fall 1971; in the PRL
era it appeared on maps as a non-descript holiday
resort. It had a very special status, however, having been the only intelligence training facility in the Eastern Bloc
located outside the Soviet Union
.
Signs are posted nearby reminding casual visitors of prohibitions against taking photographs, and journalists have reported having their cameras searched (and memory cards confiscated) when taking pictures near the facility.
On December 15, 2005, Zbigniew Siemiątkowski
, the former head of the current Polish national intelligence agency, Agencja Wywiadu
, confirmed that near the village of Stare Kiejkuty facility there exists two "internal zones" to which CIA officers have access; one of these (referred to as Strefa B) is officially the home of OSAW.
Other Polish intelligence officials have confirmed that American personnel associated with the facility have been known to reside in the area for several months at a time, going back 5 or 6 years.
Stare Kiejkuty (village)
Stare Kiejkuty is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szczytno, within Szczytno County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Szczytno and south-east of the regional capital Olsztyn...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, is a restricted military area that is the seat of (postal service name, simply) Jednostka Wojskowa 2669 (military unit 2669), Ośrodek Szkolenia Agencji Wywiadu
Agencja Wywiadu
Agencja Wywiadu or AW is a Polish intelligence agency, tasked with the gathering of public and secret information abroad for the Republic of Poland....
(Agencja Wywiadu Intelligence Agency Training Center)" Since 2005 it has attracted scrutiny as being a black site
Black site
In military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black project is conducted. Recently, the term has gained notoriety in describing secret prisons operated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , generally outside of U.S. territory and legal jurisdiction. It...
involved in the CIA's program of extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
.
About the base
The facility's military uses go back at least as far as the Second World War, when it served as an outpost of the III Reich SDSicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(the intelligence service of the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
) and Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
. The airstrip that would later be expanded into the modern Szczytno-Szymany International Airport
Szczytno-Szymany International Airport
Szczytno-Szymany International Airport is a currently inoperative Polish regional airport located in the village Szymany, some 10 km from the center of the city of Szczytno in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in the North of Poland. It is the only airport in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship...
, 20 km away, originally served as a landing strip for Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
planes for bombing raids on Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. In 1968 it would be used by the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
to plan operations to crush the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
.
Its use by Polish intelligence dates to the fall 1971; in the PRL
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
era it appeared on maps as a non-descript holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
resort. It had a very special status, however, having been the only intelligence training facility in the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
located outside the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Signs are posted nearby reminding casual visitors of prohibitions against taking photographs, and journalists have reported having their cameras searched (and memory cards confiscated) when taking pictures near the facility.
On December 15, 2005, Zbigniew Siemiątkowski
Zbigniew Siemiatkowski
Zbigniew Siemiątkowski is a Polish politician. He was Minister of Internal Affairs, 1996–97, and head of the Intelligence Agency , 2002 – April 2004.- Life :...
, the former head of the current Polish national intelligence agency, Agencja Wywiadu
Agencja Wywiadu
Agencja Wywiadu or AW is a Polish intelligence agency, tasked with the gathering of public and secret information abroad for the Republic of Poland....
, confirmed that near the village of Stare Kiejkuty facility there exists two "internal zones" to which CIA officers have access; one of these (referred to as Strefa B) is officially the home of OSAW.
Other Polish intelligence officials have confirmed that American personnel associated with the facility have been known to reside in the area for several months at a time, going back 5 or 6 years.
Articles
- http://www.amnistia.net/news/articles/guerirak/jerzykos/jerzykos_715.htm - polish
- http://www.przekroj.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=787&Itemid=480 - polish
- http://binnenland21.web-log.nl/binnenland21/2005/12/luchthaven_in_v.html - Dutch
- http://mariusz-armia.blog.onet.pl/ - polish military blog
- http://www.ostblog.de/2006/01/die_polnische_unschuld_ist_una.php - ostblog post, in German