big brotha
Posted at 08:30 AM ET, 12/15/2005
The American Battlefield
The Pentagon now says that it has ordered a "review" of the collection of information about U.S. citizens, particularly those who pose no plausible terrorist threat, after my NBC Nightly News piece ran Tuesday and my blog yesterday revealed some of the contents of a Pentagon database compiling "suspicious incidents."
Shocked that there is gambling going on in the casino, here's my prediction of what the Pentagon "review" will find:
They will conclude that information collected on certain incidents fell within Pentagon guidelines for "force protection."
They will find that no information naming U.S. persons was disseminated outside of valid law enforcement or intelligence channels.
They will find that perhaps over-zealous anti-terrorism and law enforcement personnel retained information beyond a 90 day limit set to determine if real threats exist.
They will order a further review of the practices of the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) in compiling and disseminating databases of incidents deemed non-threatening.
In other words, the Pentagon will not conclude that the military shouldn't spy on peace groups and anti-war protestors.
The problem here is that the United States is seen as another battlefield in the war on terrorism. We, ladies and gentleman, are the potential enemy.