disrupter
10-17-2007, 01:03 PM
Not just the FBI has abused & illegally used national security letters,
But the pentagon, which is not even an investigative body has done so.
Spying on people, prying into their personal records & then blocking informers from even telling the victim of the Pentagon intrusion.
National Security: Going wrong way
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Secretly issued national security letters digging into private records -- financial, telephone -- paint a grim picture of the direction in which our government is taking us.
Dealing with heavily redacted copies of Pentagon documents, the American Civil Liberties Union says "the Defense Department seems to have collaborated with the FBI to circumvent the law, may have overstepped its legal authority to obtain financial and credit records, provided misleading information to Congress, and silenced NSL recipients from speaking out about the records requests." The ACLU also charges that the military ought not be asking the FBI to issue the letters, something Congress was told was not happening. What the ACLU finds objectionable, Vice President Dick Cheney sees as "perfectly legitimate activity."
Of course, it's unknown just to what extent such information-gathering techniques prevent terrorist attacks. In some cases, such as the one recently foiled in Germany, nothing more than standard investigation practices were used to get the job done.
Also, the documents include the Pentagon's review of the program, one that indicates that the Department of Defense needs to specifically define the need and use of NSLs. The review concluded the program lacks proper oversight and training.http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/335673_nsled.html
But the pentagon, which is not even an investigative body has done so.
Spying on people, prying into their personal records & then blocking informers from even telling the victim of the Pentagon intrusion.
National Security: Going wrong way
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Secretly issued national security letters digging into private records -- financial, telephone -- paint a grim picture of the direction in which our government is taking us.
Dealing with heavily redacted copies of Pentagon documents, the American Civil Liberties Union says "the Defense Department seems to have collaborated with the FBI to circumvent the law, may have overstepped its legal authority to obtain financial and credit records, provided misleading information to Congress, and silenced NSL recipients from speaking out about the records requests." The ACLU also charges that the military ought not be asking the FBI to issue the letters, something Congress was told was not happening. What the ACLU finds objectionable, Vice President Dick Cheney sees as "perfectly legitimate activity."
Of course, it's unknown just to what extent such information-gathering techniques prevent terrorist attacks. In some cases, such as the one recently foiled in Germany, nothing more than standard investigation practices were used to get the job done.
Also, the documents include the Pentagon's review of the program, one that indicates that the Department of Defense needs to specifically define the need and use of NSLs. The review concluded the program lacks proper oversight and training.http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/335673_nsled.html