Antiwar.com Blog » War at Home

Military to share classified intel with state and local fusion centers

Kelley Beaucar Vlahos — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:21:43 +0000

Correct me if I am wrong, but this must spell an unprecedented level of domestic intelligence sharing. One wonders, is the sharing between the DoD and fusion centers – which incorporate local, state and federal law enforcement and homeland security agencies — both ways? Again, a big disappointment coming from a new President who promised all sorts of sunshine into the creepy darkness of Bush-era law enforcement/domestic security policies, but seems to be instead pushing forward into the gloaming of his own administration full throttle. Considering his justice department has announced it is pretty much all settled to extend the three controversial Patriot Act provisions set to expire at the end of the year, and now this story out of DHS, it is really hard to make out the sliver of sunlight between Obama and his predecessor.

From the ACLU tonight:

Fusion Centers To Obtain Access To Classified Military Intelligence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 15, 2009

CONTACT: Mandy Simon, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday that it was giving state and local fusion centers access to the classified military intelligence in Department of Defense (DOD) databases. The federal government has facilitated the growth of a network of fusion centers since 9/11 to expand information collection and sharing practices among law enforcement agencies, the private sector and the intelligence community.

Allowing fusion centers access to DOD classified information appears to be a shift in policy. The New York Times reported in July that “Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, said … that fusion centers were not intended to have a military presence, and that she was not aware of ones that did.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has long warned the government about the dangers posed by fusion centers without proper oversight and, in 2007, released a report entitled, “What’s Wrong With Fusion Centers?” The report, which was updated last year, identifies specific concerns with fusion centers, including their ambiguous lines of authority, the troubling role of private corporations, the participation of the military, the use of data mining and their excessive secrecy.

According to DHS, there were 70 fusion centers in the United States as of February 2009. It is unknown how many include military personnel.

The following can be attributed to Michael Macleod-Ball, Acting Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

“As fusion centers gain more and more access to Americans’ private information, the information about them being made available to the American public remains woefully inadequate. There is a stunning lack of oversight at these fusion centers and, as we’ve seen, these centers are rapidly becoming a breeding ground for overzealous intelligence activities. Opening the door for domestic law enforcement to gain access to classified military intelligence coupled with no guidelines restricting the military’s role in fusion centers is a recipe for disaster.

“Congress must take the necessary steps to ensure that a thorough and rigorous oversight mechanism is in place to ensure that Americans’ most sensitive information is protected. Without proper guidelines, fusion centers will continue to threaten our privacy while doing nothing to improve security.”

To read the ACLU’s report, “What’s Wrong With Fusion Centers,” go to: www.aclu.org/fusion

Utah: home of the NSA’s new mega data center

Tim Swanson — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:12:56 +0000

ArsTechnica has a good overview of the $1.8 billion NSA facility being erected in Utah.

Jon Stokes, the author, correctly notes how government organizations are doing a disservice to tax payers for two reasons.

First, there is little empirical data to suggest that the NSA’s current data mining system has been effective at stopping terrorism whereas there is a lot of evidence that it violates individual privacy.

Second, in the age of cloud computing, the scramble for ideal data center locations is limited by a number of constraints (including uninterrupted power supply and environmental temperature). Because the NSA can use its deep taxpayer-funded pockets, it can outbid rivals such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon — companies that actually create utility for mankind — for prime locations.

Be sure to check out the comments of the story and see how these observations are greeted. Hint: he is unsurprisingly slimed.

Ron Paul Interviews Ivan Eland

Scott Horton — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:18:07 +0000

On the subject of his new book Recarving Rushmore.

Where at least you know you’re free?

Tim Swanson — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:24:04 +0000

While everyone is distracted by the unwinding of various financial institutions, the battle over an open society and civil liberties is quietly fighting on.

Homeland Security’s space-based domestic spy program is now operational, despite lacking privacy safeguards.

A brigade from the 3rd Infantry is now the first official military unit to become permanently garrisoned in the US as part of the new Northern Command. What Posse Comitatus Act?

Despite any record of violent or criminal intent, Maryland officials have admitted that they had added antiwar activists to national databases of suspected terrorists. Good luck getting off that list, right?

And while I do not condone hacking email accounts, the alleged perpetrator in the Sarah Plain case was arrested and indicted — for the very same activities that the NSA, FBI and other federal agencies do on a daily basis.

It should also be noted while there was a justifiably large outcry over the $700 billion bailout two weeks ago, a mere three weeks ago — without a debate — Congress passed the new defense spending bill: a hefty sum of $612 billion.

At least no one is threatening martial law, right?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chinese intelligence alerts travelers to cyber spies

Tim Swanson — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:47:17 +0000

This past week, the head of the Chinese National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) held a press conference noting that “Somebody with a wireless device in the US should expect it to be compromised while he’s there.”

Oh wait, no, that didn’t happen.

In a case of the pot calling the kettle black, the US NCIX told Americans traveling abroad that their electronic devices (such as laptops and cell phones) could be compromised by foreign spies.

Curiously, there was no mention of the domestic spying conducted every day by a plethora of US intelligence agencies.

And while the PRC may indeed be tracking your movements and attempting to spy on your online activity, the current US administration has no moral high ground to stand on, as it has:

- created a militarized cyber command to conduct covert espionage on digital properties, both foreign and potentially domestic
- used the NSA and other intelligence agencies to intercept all electronic communication
- enacted dozens of anti-privacy statutes including the PATRIOT Act and REAL ID
- amended FISA to immunize companies that operate wiretapping stations and retroactively legalize any potential illegalities
- compiled an ever increasing dragnet dubiously called the “No Fly List” which has more than a million suspects
- continued to operate and upgrade ECHELON listening stations domestically and overseas

Last year Judge Napolitano discussed these intrusions in length at the summer FFF convention, noting then that the NSA is also provided a backdoor to track and monitor all cellular devices.

And not content with strip searching you in public a new Homeland Security policy allows the US government to confiscate (indefinitely) and search any electronic device at any port of entry.

Thus, ignoring star chambers, detention camps, extraordinary rendition, and PLA torture techniques, no amount of foreign borrowing could prop up the insolvent nature of the US administrations moral bankruptcy and brazen disregard for individual privacy.

Via Kathryn Muratore