Posted on 12/18/2005, 12:43:44 AM by FairOpinion
A Pentagon document shows that the U.S. army is monitoring and collecting information on anti-war activists across the United States, NBC reported.
The network obtained a classified Pentagon document which lists four dozen anti-war meetings or demonstrations that took place in the U.S. over a 10-month period.
The document also included anti-nuclear protests staged in Nebraska on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.
The Pentagon describes all of these events as threats, says William Arkin, the former Army intelligence officer, who obtained the secret documents.
According to NBC, the document says that the U.S. military is even monitoring Internet traffic. The network quoted one Pentagon briefing document, stamped "secret", as saying: “We have noted increased communication and encouragement between protest groups using the Internet."
Correspondents say the revelation shows how Washington stepped up intelligence collection since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
American citizens have been wary of any monitoring of anti-war groups since the Vietnam war when the Pentagon spied on anti-war and civil rights organizations. In the 1970s, the Congress recommended tough restrictions on military spying inside the United States.
Following the NBC report, the Pentagon said it ordered a review of the military intelligence program, indicating, but not admitting, that some of the gathered information had been handled improperly.
A Pentagon spokesman said that “the Department of Defense uses counterintelligence and law enforcement information properly collected by law enforcement agencies.
"The use of this information is subject to strict limitations, particularly the information must be related to missions relating to protection of DoD installations, interests and personnel," he said, according to Reuters.
The Pentagon has already acknowledged the existence of a counterintelligence program known as the "Threat and Local Observation Notice" (TALON) reporting system, which the military says is aimed at gathering “non-validated threat information and security anomalies indicative of possible terrorist pre-attack activity."
“Psychological war”
USAToday reported that the Pentagon has a $400 million psychological warfare campaign that includes plans to plant pro-American stories in global media outlets.
One of the army officials involved in the program was quoted as saying that the operation is aimed at altering foreign audiences’ perceptions to back American policies.
The program, run by psychological warfare experts at the U.S. Special Operations Command, would operate throughout the world, the report said.
According to Reuters, one of the three firms handling the campaign include the Lincoln Group, a company under investigation by the Pentagon for paying Iraqi newspapers to run pro-American stories.
Pentagon officials involved in the program say that they don’t plan to secretly plant false stories in foreign media outlets. But Mike Furlong, deputy director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element, told USAToday that the army would not always reveal its role in distributing pro-American messages.
"While the product may not carry the label, 'Made in the USA,' we will respond truthfully if asked" by reporters, he said.
USAToday said Furlong refused to give examples of specific products, which he said would include articles, advertisements and public service announcements.
Ditto
Anti-war = Anti-American.
And a threat to National Security.
I'm assuming that they are also monitoring the media : P
Comment by a Canadian DUer?
Let's ask little Willie where he got the documents.
I have no doubt that the more rabid anti-war pukes (the girl with the "Revolutionary Comunist Youth Brigade" T-shirt on H&C comes immediately to mind) are extremely vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist groups and should absolutely be kept under close watch. It wouldn't surprise me one bit of some of them have already been recruited and are lending active support to Al-Qaeda.
.
...while we Freepers take on Anti-War groups in time of war:
http://www.post-gazette.com/nation/20030324antiwar0324p7.asp
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When anyone takes the oath of military service, upon entering (officially) they swear to support the commander in chief AND to protect the United States of America against ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. That has been part of the language of the oath for decades.
It's as it should be.
About time.
Or the main stream media.
Just think of how we could have possibly prevented the OK city bombing if only...if only we had the intel on McVey etc. Of course...clintooon would never have allowed any such spying.
And why is our Mr. Arkin not marching to jail right now for a long, long stay?
Glad you're all so happy about something coming from Al Jazeera.
Sigh...
That was my thought too. I'd also like to see the FBI obtain a search warrant for the NY Times and seize anything that can be used to discover who these leakers of CLASSIFIED materials are. I believe national security trumps freedom of press in this case.
Yeah, just think of all the problems we could solve if only we would just give the government enough power to solve them...
Then I assume you would be okay with President Hillary doing the same thing to her opponents.
I'm starting to question how many actual conservatives there are on this site.
Most likely from DU or GLP or others of the ilk. Who needs to spy when they say it out in the open?
Not many.
Too many seem to support the idea that an government empowerment is a GOOD thing.
It used to be that such ideas were mostly only found in the Democratic Party...
Al Jazeera is quoting a story by NBC (their affilliate in defeating America). I don't care if what is reprinted is in the National Enquirer, we have a name of a person who is obtaining classified documents and apparently giving them to NBC. Find him and prosecute him now.
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