[privacy] U.S. Military Expands Domestic Surveillance

["Fergie" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

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Via The New York Times.

[snip]

The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and
credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism
or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by
the military into domestic intelligence gathering.

The C.I.A. has also been issuing what are known as national security
letters to gain access to financial records from American companies, though
it has done so only rarely, intelligence officials say.

Banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions receiving the
letters usually have turned over documents voluntarily, allowing
investigators to examine the financial assets and transactions of American
military personnel and civilians, officials say.

The F.B.I., the lead agency on domestic counterterrorism and espionage, has
issued thousands of national security letters since the attacks of Sept.
11, 2001, provoking criticism and court challenges from civil liberties
advocates who see them as unjustified intrusions into Americans’ private
lives.

But it was not previously known, even to some senior counterterrorism
officials, that the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency have been
using their own “noncompulsory” versions of the letters. Congress has
rejected several attempts by the two agencies since 2001 for authority to
issue mandatory letters, in part because of concerns about the dangers of
expanding their role in domestic spying.

[snip]

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/washington/14spy.html

- - ferg

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--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

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