Pentagon Admits To Improperly Snooping on Peaceful War Protesters
Pentagon Admits To Improperly Snooping on Peaceful War Protesters
Last December, NBC News obtained a 400-page compilation of reports from the Pentagon that revealed the Defense Department was conducting secret surveillance of peaceful war protesters.
Yesterday, in a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) pressed Rumsfeld about the Pentagon’s so-called TALON surveillance program which had conducted the snooping. Maintained by the Counterintelligence Field Agency (CIFA), the TALON database (short for Threat and Local Observation Notice) is a system that was devised in May 2003 by Paul Wolfowitz to collect “raw information” about “suspicious incidents.”
After nearly three months, three pointed letters, and one high-profile hearing, Leahy finally got the answers he was looking for. In a letter addressed to Leahy from Robert Rogalski, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Counterintelligence and Security, the Pentagon admits to improperly collecting information on innocent parties:
Remember this the next time the administration argues for more spying power and says “Just Trust Us.”
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55 Responses to “Pentagon Admits To Improperly Snooping on Peaceful War Protesters”
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Peace protestors want us to leave Iraq. That would be a disaster.
Thank God for Bush!
March 10th, 2006 at 6:02 pm.
I feel so much safer knowing the Pentagon goes after Quakers...
March 10th, 2006 at 6:08 pmSo those pics they were taking of me really was something to be freaked out about? Who knew?
March 10th, 2006 at 6:13 pmI guess you guys have to get busy responding on all the points that showed how badly done your report is, starting off with trying to find out what Ron was saying?
Perhaps he's just targeting his audience and they aren't used to facts and stuff...
March 10th, 2006 at 6:15 pmHas Fox Security played a role in the snooping?
March 10th, 2006 at 6:19 pm(...)the TALON database (short for Threat and Local Observation Notice) is a system that was devised in May 2003 by Paul Wolfowitz to collect "raw information" about "suspicious incidents."
Now we know they used the system to track "demonstrations and protest activities".
War protests are "suspicious" activities? Clearly, the Bush administration thinks dissent itself is "suspicious".
March 10th, 2006 at 6:19 pmwe broke the law....so what cha gonna do about it,report us to rummy?.... They break the law and no punishment, they must laugh at us. Billions of dollars missing, contracts to buddys....who need an enemy,we have them.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:19 pmPentagon Admits to Incorrect Spying of Anti-War Protesters...
186 erroneous reports, and counting....
March 10th, 2006 at 6:21 pmThey'rrrrrrrrrrrre Back. , The cointelpro, ooops I mean the GESTAPO.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:21 pmKnow your enemy. Since we're living in Neo-McCarthyesque times, time to dust off that old chestnut.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:24 pmSo republican 'respect for the law and office of the presidency' ends at the blue dress and sexual affairs? Is that the deal?
Republicans are such hypocrites.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:28 pm"NO WAR!, NO WAY!, NOW FASCIST USA!" is how the protester in georgia welcomed bushco............hahahah, sweeeeeeet! that is good southern hopitality. peach cobbler for desert.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:28 pmMy reaction is "Well, no shit," but that was my reaction to the "no WMD's" and "NSA wiretapping" stories, too, so obviously I'm not a good judge of which stories will turn out to be big and which won't.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:31 pmwhy do i have to type in 4 letter codes to post?
March 10th, 2006 at 6:37 pmTime for a Freedom of Information Act demand and a suit by all those spied on.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:40 pmSeems like the Neo-Kons are concerned about loosing power, eh? Spy on anything that disagrees. But be very ineffective when it comes to dealing with anyone who's actually a threat.
Got Osama? I thought not.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:40 pmThe Republicans only have morals below their belt and above their knees...minus their wallets of course.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:41 pmNext thing you know we'll be hearing an apology about having outfitted ipods with listening devices...
Judging from this flash ad someone's already got a bead on thier manuevers...
March 10th, 2006 at 6:45 pmA government "of, for, and by the people" does not spy on or surviel the people. Dictatorships and despots do, though.
And yet the masses drive around in their SUVs and then go home to their cookie-cutter developments, oblivious to it all. That rumbling you hear is the simultaneous rolling-over-in-their-graves of our founding fathers.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:53 pmThe military has been spying on civilians for years and years and years. Nothing neew there at all.
Dont you all recall that it was, during the Kennedy assasination period, the military intelligence people who had more information on the characters involved than any other agency?
March 10th, 2006 at 6:55 pmThe military has been spying on civilians for years and years and years. Nothing new there at all.
Dont you all recall that it was, during the Kennedy assasination period, the military intelligence people who had more information on the characters involved than any other agency?
March 10th, 2006 at 6:56 pm'George, don't you think you should change.....SHUT UP!, and get me a drink, Laura!"....(the fly on the wall in the whitehouse)
March 10th, 2006 at 7:03 pmFaiz or anyone, can you please delete my comment #4 above? My mistake...
Even though this is like Cointelpro2000, no one that I know is afraid to speak out, which in itself is great news. Actually, this type of news makes me want to speak out even more.
March 10th, 2006 at 8:01 pmOK, so this was unearthed during a hearing yesterday.
March 10th, 2006 at 8:02 pmGee, for some reason there's nothing on my computer's "Breaking News" feature.
The truth and the unlawfulness of this Admin. covered up again.
Sickening.
WHY aren't the Dem's shouting this out EVERY DAY?e need someone with b*lls to DO something, already!!!
This boy shoulda been lasso-ed up a long time ago...( in my best Texan...)
Don't worry Robertson will kiss it and make it well.
#19 Optimist
We have a Government of the People, by the Bushco Crooks, for Daddy Bush and Haliburton.
March 10th, 2006 at 8:02 pmThe Pentagon would be better served to snoop on Pakistan that harbors Osama bin Laden, a real terrorist, rather than peaceful Quakers in the United States and people like Cindy Sheehan!
March 10th, 2006 at 8:12 pmthey are looking for mistakes to fix them...morons
March 10th, 2006 at 8:33 pmJay,
March 10th, 2006 at 8:34 pmOr keep a watchful eye on their own corrupt employees and weed them out.
Oops. That would mean no one left in the White House. Most of Congress gone, too.
What the heck is the pentagon doing spying on peace activists. Don't they have real military efforts to undertake? Everyone busy spying on quakers would explain why the post-war planning didn't get done for Iraq.
This is a classic rightwing government in action. Inept cronyism, klepto corruption, violations of civil rights, and a general breakdown of governmental competence and effectiveness. If they get any more 'effective', they'll throw us into another depression like the one that Bush caused in 2001.
March 10th, 2006 at 9:11 pmImagine everyone that Pentagon trolls are probably snooping on TP threads, so they are spying on us since we dislike Bush and his vile Iraq War for petroleum?!
March 10th, 2006 at 9:23 pmIf this is an “improper†way of spying. Wonder what the proper way is?
Cointelpro ain’t got nothin on these new DHS programs I bet. Wonder if the patriot act paved some new avenues for “them�
March 10th, 2006 at 9:54 pmThe Rulers are so sure of themselves that they make inside jokes on their manoeuvres and deceptions. TALON?? "TALON News"...That was Jeff Gannon/Guckert's "news" service, wasn't it? Multitasking the misnomers.
March 10th, 2006 at 10:11 pmThe Rubicon was crossed when we invaded and occupied Iraq. It is indisputable that we are a nation of stupid people for allowing this bunch of yahoos to take control. The question remaining is whether or not we are stupid enough to let them continue unchecked. Can our republic be restored? Stay tuned.
March 10th, 2006 at 10:27 pmNever forget John B[M]o[r]lt(on). Butch - you're back!
March 10th, 2006 at 10:51 pmI find it quite disheartening that THIS story has had only 34 posts, while the one about an idiot Advisor who was caught stealing has twice the posts.
THIS is the story. The other one is an easier target, but this story has more meat to it.
It's almost a metaphor for the Democratic agenda.....
March 10th, 2006 at 11:44 pm#35 - trueblue,
March 11th, 2006 at 12:12 amW's men are doing all that they can to suppress the facts. I don't fear the interment camps because the Feds could not afford my Meds. Last year was about 12 grand (spouse included) and the doctors gleaned another 7 grand. That's the one expense that exceeds my taxes.
doesn't everyone know? Quakers and other peaceniks are considered to be greater threats to national "security" than Osama, al-qaeda, Saddam, Hamas, or Hezbollah. Vietnam Veterans Against the War(VVAW) with John Kerry(c1971) were #1 on Nixon's enemies list. Today, Veterans for peace,Iraq Veterans against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and other antiwar groups are under surveillance, and being iinfiltrated by the Bush administration. Big Brother IS watching you!!! The concentration camps("re-education centers") are being built, by none other than Halliburton.
March 11th, 2006 at 6:20 amYes Halliburton gets to build the new Labor Camp Gulags for Americans and swindle the taxpayers out of millions of dollars in building them! They also may get our East Coast ports, if the members of Congress allow it?
March 11th, 2006 at 6:27 amI have been a lifelong liberal Democrat but now I am
March 11th, 2006 at 7:34 amsick of what the Republicans are doing to my country and there are no Dems to speak out? Where are they? Do we need a new third party to represent us, the lowly populace,
someone with chutzpah to call it like it is and begin screaming "impeachment". What happened to brave men????
#39, "What happened to brave men?"
It is apparently no longer profitable to be brave, if it ever was. Or people started to mistake yelling and name-calling (a la Bill O'Reilly or Ann Coulter) for bravery.
I'd "settle" for a brave woman (though I suspect you were including them, too).
March 11th, 2006 at 10:17 amIrene, haven't had my full cup of coffee so can't name any this morning. There are only a hand full of men and women left in DC worth their weight and sadly of the few like Mertha and Conyers they are aging, Of the woman and I don't mean Hillery very few are against the war, most have become Rep. lite as far as I can see....We do need to form a new base, clean up the white house, house and senate, bring the troops home and save our country before it is sold out totaly. Big ajenda and not many takers........Blessings....Better change takers to doer's, takers we have lot's of.
March 11th, 2006 at 10:31 amOT, but I'm launching off the "where are the leaders" posts, above.
The neo-con zookeepers insist on shoving forward issues like gay marriage because it's a great way to scare the bejeebus out of a lot of people (why, I've never been able to determine for myself). But Instead of amending the Constitution for things like that, it's my opinion the Constitution (and government in general) should be revised and reformed to take account of things the FFs could never have imagined. It's become quite obvious that the system is too easy to abuse.
March 11th, 2006 at 10:52 amMore distrubing to me was the news conference called yesterday by Shirtoff of the DHS. No one commenting on why the hell is the DHS in the forefront on rounding up criminals?
In other words, DHS is acting like a police agency, are they not?
March 11th, 2006 at 11:09 am"Just give em' a couple hundred examples so they'll stop asking questions at those god damned hearings!" D. R.
March 11th, 2006 at 11:32 amEverybody seems to be missing the most chilling quote in the letter:
The agency created to protect us from terrorists is being used to investigate and infiltrate those of us who speak out against the Administration.
It only follows basic logic. If you are against the Administration, you are with the terrorists. If you are with the terrorists, you are a terrorist, and Commander-in-Chief Bush has the inherent Power under the Constitution to use any and all means at His disposal to track you down and kill you.
March 11th, 2006 at 11:33 amcorrection, the quote should have stated:
March 11th, 2006 at 11:40 am
"I'll be Watching You."
![[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b319/renaissancehighlander/protest%201-31-06/DeptHomelandSecurity1-31-06.jpg[/IMG]](http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b319/renaissancehighlander/protest%201-31-06/DeptHomelandSecurity1-31-06.jpg)
March 11th, 2006 at 11:43 amirene, sharon, and all - try this on, pass it around:
listened to thom hartman yesterday on AirAmericaRadio - he did an extended segment on this topic: JFK’s acceptance speech in 1960, referred to as “what it means to be a liberal†speech … the most relevant part being:
†What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label, “Liberalâ€? If by “Liberal†they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of “Liberal.†But, if by a “Liberal,†they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,†then I’m proud to say that I’m a “Liberal.â€
http://www.jfklink.com/ speeches/ jfk/ sept60/ jfk140960_ny04.html
do yourself a huge favor and read the whole thing
and you can listen to that part at
http://www.thomhartmann.com/JFKliberal.mp3
I AM SO VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT I AM A LIBERAL.
March 11th, 2006 at 2:19 pmNOW will somebody go to jail BESIDES Cindy Sheehan?
March 12th, 2006 at 11:18 am#27- So are you saying that the Pentagon did not know they were ILLEGALLY spying on Americans, while they were illegally spying on Americans? Really now... so are they lying, or incompetent?
March 12th, 2006 at 1:16 pm[...] Think Progress [...]
March 13th, 2006 at 5:41 pm[...] Pentagon review, led by intel chief Stephen Cambone, has found that the Defense Department’s classified terrorism database improperly included data on U.S. peace activists roughly 260 times. That’s up from the 186 times that they previously reported to the Senate Judiciary Committee. [...]
April 6th, 2006 at 4:20 amDon't worry about it if you have nothing to hide. When are you going to get your heads out of the sand and realize that we are at war?
August 10th, 2006 at 12:50 pmKaty, I will pray for you that you are a lib and may see the light someday.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:51 pmDespite a massive curtailing of Civil Liberty, this is what we get?
Tax-Payer dollars in action...
Never-mind actually keeping people from illegally entering the country, and then crashing aircraft into buildings..
what about the House of Saud? why did they Fly the Ladens out of the US on September 12th?
Why we'rent they implicated, or better yet, even questioned?
9/11 was an inside job.
January 5th, 2007 at 9:06 am