CIVIL LIBERTIES -- DEFENSE DEPARTMENT STEPS UP DOMESTIC SPYING: Fears of Post-9/11 Terrorism Spur Proposals for New Powers
"The Defense Department has expanded its programs aimed at gathering and analyzing intelligence within the United States, creating new agencies, adding personnel and seeking additional legal authority for domestic security activities in the post-9/11 world," the Washington Post reported. The Pentagon has increased domestic surveillance through the expansion of the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA),an agency created three years ago. The Bush administration is also pushing to expand CIFA's authority into 'crimes within the United States such as treason, foreign or terrorist sabotage or even economic espionage.' A 2004 Pentagon document revealed CIFA is 'exploiting commercial data' with the help of private contractors. Senate Select Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden (R-OR) said about the moves, 'We are deputizing the military to spy on law-abiding Americans in America. This is a huge leap without even a [congressional] hearing.'" --Walter Pincus, Washington Post
SEE PREVIOUS POST: What we have to Fear After 9/11
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