Source Leaks Secret Guidelines for US Government "Watchlist"

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/07/23/source-leaks-secret-guidelines-us-government-watchlist



The "March 2013-Watchlisting Guidance" was leaked to journalists at The Intercept by a source within the intelligence community.

Source Leaks Secret Guidelines for US Government "Watchlist"
by Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2014

“A source within the intelligence community” has leaked the government’s secret guidebook to how it adds names to and manages its controversial terrorist “watchlist” and was published in full by The Intercept on Wednesday.

Reported by Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Devereaux, the 166-page document (pdf) issued by the National Counterterrorism Center—and titled “March 2013 Watchlisting Guidance”—details the most up-to-date government rules for placing individuals on their main terrorism database, as well as the no-fly list and selectee list. It was developed by representatives from the nation's top military and intelligence bodies including the Pentagon, CIA, NSA, and FBI.

According to the report, in 2013 the Obama administration “quietly approved a substantial expansion” of the watchlist system, “authorizing a secret process that requires neither ‘concrete facts’ nor ‘irrefutable evidence’ to designate an American or foreigner as a terrorist.” It was developed behind closed doors by representatives of the nation’s intelligence, military, and law-enforcement establishment, including the Pentagon, CIA, NSA, and FBI.

Scahill and Devereaux report that the guidelines permit “the elastic concept of 'reasonable suspicion' as a standard for determining whether someone is a possible threat.”