Just in case you thought that the administration's domestic spying couldn't happen to you, let's talk about CIFA. From NewsWeek
Created three years ago by the Defense Department, CIFA's role is "force protection"--tracking threats and terrorist plots against military installations and personnel inside the United States. In May 2003, Paul Wolfowitz, then deputy Defense secretary, authorized a fact-gathering operation code-named TALON--short for Threat and Local Observation Notice--that would collect "raw information" about "suspicious incidents." The data would be fed to CIFA to help the Pentagon's "terrorism threat warning process," according to an internal Pentagon memo.
Another NSA program? No, Its the Army this time and they are set up for domestic surveillance. According an opinion article in the Washington Post by William Arkin
collection of intelligence on U.S. persons is allowed by military intelligence units if there is a reason to believe the U.S. person is:
- Connected to international terrorist activities;
- Connected to international narcotics;
- Connected to foreign intelligence;
- A threat to DoD installations, property, or persons; or,
- The subject of authorized counterintelligence."
In other words, some military gumshoe or over-zealous commander just has to decide that someone is "a threat to" the military.
So the entry bar is pretty low, a local military commander (Colonel?, Captain?, Warrant Officer?) can decide that you or a group that you can be connected to is "Threat" and they are authorized to gather intelligence on you. The threat does not even have to be validated. Still, you are not a threat are you? Don't be so sure just yet, according to the Newsweek article:
The presentation, which Arkin provided to NEWSWEEK, shows that CIFA analysts had access to law-enforcement reports and sensitive military and U.S. intelligence documents. (The group's motto appears at the bottom of each PowerPoint slide: "Counterintelligence 'to the Edge'.") But the organization also gleaned data from "open source Internet monitoring." In other words, they surfed the Web.
Welcome to the group, wave to your intelligence analyst. Your participation in blogging may qualify you as a threat. We have your parking tickets and credit card statement, oh and by the way, since you are affiliated with a terrorist group, the NSA promptly destroyed those intercepted conversations with your girlfriend, pookie. We just kept the dates and length of the calls in the database.
Of course the Navy, Marines, and Air Force are not going to rely on the Army for domestic intelligence:
What is more, the post 9/11 redefinition of "counter-intelligence" opens the way for the military to conduct domestic surveillance. Military law enforcement organizations such as the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), the Army Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and its domestic counter-intelligence brigade, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) have increasing domestic duties that straddle the world between "counter-intelligence" and law enforcement, and are the main sources for TALON reporting to CIFA.
Well it is all in the name of keeping us safe, isn't it now. They probably have some good information on some pretty nasty characters. From the Newsweek article:
In December, NBC News obtained a 400-page compilation of reports that detailed a portion of TALON's surveillance efforts. It showed the unit had collected information on nearly four dozen antiwar meetings or protests, including one at a Quaker meetinghouse in Lake Worth, Fla., and a Students Against War demonstration at a military recruiting fair at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A Pentagon spokesman declined to say why a private company like Halliburton would be deserving of CIFA's protection.
Domestic surveillance of Anti-War groups, wasn't that in on of the Articles of Impeachment for Richard Milhous Nixon?
So, it can't happen to you, well it is.
If you expected that the bush administration would show some restraint and expected that they could be trusted with the power of domestic surveillance then you probably need your medication adjusted. You also have to wonder how Paul Wolfowitz got the medal of freedom when he seems to be doing his best to destroy freedom.