Dr. Paul Gilman Director Oak Ridge Center for Advanced Studies Oak Ridge National Laboratory US Department of Energy
Kemp Lear Associate Booz Allen Hamilton, and
Joseph D. Whitley, Esq Alston & Bird LLP, Government Investigations and Compliance Group, former Acting Associate Attorney General in GHW Bush administration, and former General Counsel for DHS under GW Bush
The ISG's report produced 11 significant findings and 27 recommendations based on its conclusion that there's "an urgent need for action because opportunities to better protect the nation are being missed." It "concluded a new management and process model (is) needed to effectively employ IC (Intelligence Community) capabilities for domestic uses."
In March 2006, DHS unveiled the new agency to implement ISG's recommendations called the National Applications Office. In May, 2007, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Michael McConnell, named DHS as its executive agent and functional manager. At least in principle according to DHS, Congress agreed with this approach and to provide funding for it, beginning in the fall of 2007.
The public knew nothing about this until a feature August 15, 2007 Wall Street Journal story broke the news. It was headlined "US to Expand Use of Spy Satellites." It noted that for the first time the nation's top intelligence official (DNI's McConnell) "greatly expanded the range of federal and local (civilian law enforcement agencies that) can get access to" military spy satellite collected information. Until now, civilian use was restricted to agencies like NASA and the US Geological Survey, and only for scientific and environmental study.
The Journal explained that key objectives under new guidelines will be:
-- border security,
-- securing critical infrastructure and helping emergency responders after natural disasters,
-- working with criminal and civil federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and
-- unmentioned by the Journal, the ability to spy on anyone, anywhere, anytime domestically for any reason - an unprecedented act using state-of-the-art technology enabling real-time, high-resolution images and data from space.
NAO will also oversee classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and other US agencies involved in dealing with all aspects of national security, including "terrorism."
NSA was established in 1952, is super-secret, and for many years was never revealed to exist. Today, its capabilities are awesome and worrisome. It eavesdrops globally, mines a vast amount of data, and does it through a network of spy satellites, listening posts, and surveillance planes to monitor virtually all electronic communications from landline and cell phones, telegrams, emails, faxes, radio and television, data bases of all kinds and the internet.
NGA is new and began operating in 2003. It lets military and intelligence analysts monitor virtually anything or anyone from state-of-the-art spy satellites. Both NSA and NGA coordinate jointly with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) that designs, builds and operates military spy satellites. It also analyzes military and CIA-collected aircraft and satellite reconnaissance information.
Combined with warrantless wiretapping, pervasive spying of all kinds, the abandonment of the law and checks and balances, intense secrecy, and an array of repressive post-9/11 legislation, Executive Orders and National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directives, NAO is another national security police state tool any despot would love. It's now established and may be operating without congressional approval.
Using spy satellites domestically "is largely uncharted territory," as the Wall Street Journal noted. Even its architects admit there's no clarity on this, and the ISG's report stated "There is little if any policy, guidance or procedures regarding the collection, exploitation and dissemination of domestic MASINT (Measurement and Signatures Intelligence)."
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
Every thing you do is tracked by private companies that willingly give all information they have about you in their data bases. Every credit card purchase is tracked. Your bank deposits and withdrawals are tracked. Where you live and where you travel all tracked by agents for your government.
This has been going on for so long now that the right ignored is no longer a valid right. In numerous court rulings a right not exerted is a waiver of that right. Effectively you do not have the right to privacy unless you let it be known that this is your wish.
by
Gallaher (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 542 comments)
on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 2:45:29 PM
THIS IS NEW BUT NOT NEW, AMERICA HAS PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN, THERE IS NOTING YOU OR I CAN DO,YOU TALKED ABOUT ORGANIZED RESISTANCE, WITH WHAT YOU SAY IS GOING ON THIS IS IMPOSSABLE, GERMANY HAD THIS, BUT IT CAN HAPPEN HERE, IF RESISTANCE WHERE TO START UP IT WOULD BE LABALED A TORROREST ORG. AND WITH THE NEW LAWS OUR ELECTED OFFICALS ARE PASSING THERE WOULD BE A HOLD BUNCH OF CITIZENS IN CONISTRATION CAMPS, WITCH WE HAVE PLENTY OF. AND THIS WOULD LEAD TO THE POPULATION CONTROL, THAT THE GLOBALIST WANT. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS BY DECEPTION AND TRUSTING YOUR GOVERNMENT. THE BIGGEST DECEPTION IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY.
by
RICHARD SHADE (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 460 comments)
on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 3:47:08 AM
