CIA's Cold War Project AEROOT Accomplishments, 1955-1958 ©

Below is a list of achievements of the CIA Project AEROOT involving early Cold War operations into Estonia as listed in the 2 April 1957, Memorandum for the Chief of Foreign Intelligence: 

Subject: Request for renewal of Project AEROOT

This is a continuing project on Foreign Intelligence (FI) operations involving Estonia and Estonian nationals of the USSR. The original AEROOT Project was approved on 13 May 1953 under Basic Plan AEBASIN and has been continued by means of renewals and extensions to 31 October 1956

Summary of AEROOT accomplishments in the period 5 April 1955 to 1 November 1956: 

a. Recruited and trained two REDSOX agents. *

b. Recruited three REDSKIN agents. **

c. Recruited two Soviet Estonian residents as informers. 

d. Detected and followed up with three Russian Intelligence Service (RIS) agents from Estonian SSR in cooperation with Swedish and British intelligence services. 

e. Interrogated and caused confessions of two RIS agents from Estonian SSR. 

f. Spotted one principal agent (P/A) candidate for work in cooperation with Finnish IS. 

g. Recruited one agent for a repatriation mission to Estonian SSR. 

h. Recruited a merchant seaman qualified to visit Soviet ports. 

i. Recruited two mail drops for S/W correspondence with Estonian SSR. 

j. Detected RIS control of a Swedish IS agent in Estonian SSR, with whom we also were in unilateral communication. 
k. Established, with the aid of a liaison, that all Swedish and British IS agent assets in Estonian SSR were under RIS control. 

1. Provided two PM agent candidates for Hot War covert operations training. 

m. Thirteen reports were disseminated, of which three were judged to be of considerable value and ten of value, probably true. 

n. Expanded our network of emigre informants in several countries dealing with matters of interest to Clandestine Services. 

From 1 November 1956 to 31 March 1958, project AEROOT's accomplishments included: 

a. Recruited, trained, and dispatched a contract agent under deep cover in Finland. His mission was to exploit REDSKIN leads obtained from his Finnish contact and resident Estonian nationals in Finland.

b. Spotted a recruit for development as a resident foreign intelligence (FI) agent for the exploitation of REDSKIN channels in Finland. 

* Operations involving the illegal return of defectors and emigres to USSR as agents

** Operations involving legal methods of placing, recruiting, and communicating with agents within the USSR.