Posted on 11/21/2002 10:15:46 AM PST by jonefab
By Bobby Eberle GOPUSA News
WASHINGTON (GOPUSA News) -- A new surveillance system designed to monitor activities such as airline ticket purchases, car rentals, credit card transactions, and gun purchases is currently being developed to help prevent potential terrorist attacks.
The development of the Total Information Awareness System (TIA) was confirmed Wednesday by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge during a news briefing at the Pentagon.
"The war on terror and the tracking of potential terrorists and terrorist acts require that we search for clues of such activities in a mass of data," Aldridge said. "And we decided that new capabilities and new technologies are required to accomplish that task."
"Therefore, we established a project within DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, that would develop an experimental prototype -- underline, experimental prototype, which we call the Total Information Awareness System. The purpose of TIA would be to determine the feasibility of searching vast quantities of data to determine links and patterns indicative of terrorist activities."
According to Aldridge, there are three parts to the TIA project.
The first part utilizes technologies that would permit rapid language translation, such as voice recognition capabilities on existing computers.
The second part was discovery of connections between transactions -- such as passports; visas; work permits; driver's license; credit card; airline tickets; rental cars; gun purchases; chemical purchases -- and events -- such as arrest or suspicious activities and so forth.
The third part was collaborative reasoning and decision-making tools to allow interagency communications and analysis. In other words, developing the decision tools would permit the analysts to work together in an interagency community.
"The experiment will be demonstrated using test data fabricated to resemble real-life events, Aldridge said. "We'll not use detailed information that is real."
"In order to preserve the sanctity of individual privacy, we're designing this system to ensure complete anonymity of uninvolved citizens, thus focusing the efforts of law enforcement officials on terrorist investigations. The information gathered would then be subject to the same legal projections currently in place for the other law enforcement activities."
Aldridge added, "If it proves useful, TIA will then be turned over to the intelligence, counterintelligence and law enforcement communities as a tool to help them in their battle against domestic terrorism."
Critics have charged that such surveillance could lead to a "Big Brother" type of government where American citizens are routinely tracked and monitored.
When asked if there are checks and balances in place in the use of such a surveillance system, Aldridge replied, "The checks and balances will be the normal checks and balances through the law enforcement agencies who will be exercising the tool, as they do today. There's no difference."
Hypothetically, every time a citizen would enter a credit card, banking transaction, prescription, or similar activity, all of those things would become part of the database.
When asked about this hypothetical activity, Aldridge said, "Hypothetically they would, although the data that would go along with personal information such as bank accounts, that would all be protected in the Privacy Act just as it is today. Individuals would not be associated with that."
During the briefing, a reporter asked, "How is this not domestic spying?"
Aldridge responded by saying, "First of all, we are developing the technology of a system that could be used by the law enforcement officials, if they choose to do so. It is a technology that we're developing. We are not using this for this purpose. It is technology."
"Once that technology is transported over to the law enforcement agency, they will use the same process they do today; they protect the individual's identity. We'll have to operate under the same legal conditions as we do today that protects individuals' privacy when this is operated by the law enforcement agency."
"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
Unfortunately for the Total Info doodz, the real deals take place away from the microphone and off-camera.
I'm starting to see the logic in your statement.
It's an experimental prototype. It is only a research project. The government will not be monitoring your purchases or banking. There has been much confusion over this thing, and those inclined to want a weakened US have misrepresented this project in order to kill any Homeland Security Bill. Unfortunately, some well-meaning conservatives and libertarians have been duped by it.
This project does have positive implications if it is developed: As long as a warrant would be needed before using this thing on a single, named individual (i.e. a tap warrant from a duly appointed and confirmed judge), it could be useful in tracking immigrants from Pakistan or Saudi Arabia who we have seen at terror training camps in Afghanistan. If a law was passed allowing the government to use this thing without a warrant, it would then be blatantly unconstitutional. But since the government is not authorized to use it (only to research it), that is not currently the case.
Yes they are.
Under the old system, if you wanted to tap someone's phone, you could only get a warrant for that single phone. Under the Patriot Act, the warrant goes for all phones that person uses. So you tap a person instead of a phone. That way law enforcement doesn't have to go back and get a new warrant everytime a terrorist changes phones.
I love the stupidity of these articles. The headline says "confirnmed" but then they say something like that in the first sentence. So what is the actualy deal/ It is "confirmed" that it is being "developed" which means it still isn't law? Sensationalism at it's finest.
Please make note of the Public Service Announcement made in #6. If someone loads a gun and points it at you, you should not worry. To do so would be alarmist. Even after the trigger is pulled you should hold perfectly still, after all, you dont know if the shot is intended for you. Only after you are killed by the shot do you have anything to complain about, then you can take it through proper channels.
This system turns the country into an institution, with the keepers in charge and in total control. It's also puts the klintonian rapist's view of Freedom in place: you'll get to elect your rulers.
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