Documents Reveal Scope of U.S. Database on Antiwar Protests

[bemildred]

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 — Internal military documents released Thursday provided new details about the Defense Department’s collection of information on demonstrations nationwide last year by students, Quakers and others opposed to the Iraq war.

The documents, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, show, for instance, that military officials labeled as “potential terrorist activity” events like a “Stop the War Now” rally in Akron, Ohio, in March 2005.

The Defense Department acknowledged last year that its analysts had maintained records on war protests in an internal database past the 90 days its guidelines allowed, and even after it was determined there was no threat.

A department spokesman said Thursday that the “questionable data collection” had led to a tightening of military procedures to ensure that only information relevant to terrorism and other threats was collected. The spokesman, Maj. Patrick Ryder, said in response to the release of the documents that the department “views with great concern any potential violation” of the policy.

The Grey Lady

[texpatriot2004]

1. Gee, wonder why they are keeping track of "enemy combatants"

uh, I mean American citizens exercising their free right to assemble and peacefully protest.

[WCGreen]

3. Fuck these guys and their macho fear based bull shit...

[wholetruth00]

42. American-style democracy and freedom at work.

[OKNancy]

2. How Nixonian (nt)

[LiberalHeart]

4. When I attended a peace rally last year...

...I went to my car afterward and saw a guy in a car casually writing down my license plate. I was parked where organizers had told us to park, in an isolated corner of a shopping center parking lot. The guy gave me the creeps and he didn't seem at all perturbed to have been caught.

[wuushew]

23. Did you confront the guy?

I never pass up the chance for ideological battles. If it were me he would be lying on the ground with a fried brain and a crushed soul.

[civildisoBDence]

35. Now, now, no need to resort to violence

when you could just as easily throw some holy water on him and watch him melt.

~(8^)}

Once during the Gulf War, we set up a peace camp outside the front entrance to the University of Georgia. One afternoon an elementary school bus rolled slowly by, and a dozen or so kids leaned out the windows to wave at us.

When we waved back, every last one of them flipped us off!

Newsprism

[struggle4progress]

5. Well, today an anti-war protest, tomorrow a vegetarian. Who knows

where it all will end? :scared:

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Recommend #5.

[Dhalgren]

7. K&R!

This needs to stay up so that everyone can get a glimpse of the Dictatorship in action...

[stevedeshazer]

8. I'm toast

Come get me, fuckers.

[Selteri]

9. Just remember, no habeus corpus, turn yourself in before they get ya.

After all, we have lost 9/10 rights. BAsically now we can... not allow the police or military to sleep in our homes without paying rent.

[elehhhhna]

18. You mean "turn your acquaintances in " before they get ya. riiight?

[Land Shark]

29. thanks keith olbermann for that observation and selteri for repeating

[threadkillaz]

10. "I will never question the patriotism of somebody who disagrees with me."

- GWB, Press Conference, 8-21-6

[cui bono]

30. he has other people do it, as well as all those other things he doesn't do

[chill_wind]

40. Perfect observation.

And the treasonous media, basking in his patronizing faux interest in their tailors and good fashion sense, sits there and nods...

[Peace Patriot]

11. Yeah, right. "...a tightening of military procedures to ensure that only

information relevant to terrorism and other threats was collected."

And, Donald Rumsfeld "views with great concern any potential violation" of the policy.

What crap.

[Stand and Fight]

12. Deeply troubling. Something is not right here. n/t

[enough]

13. k&r

[Warren Stupidity]

14. We are all illegal enemy combatants. nt.

[Veronica.Franco]

15. LINK PLEASE?

The link you posted is just an ad? ...

[bemildred]

16. The NYT requires registration.

I think that is the problem, the link does lead to a story.

[Veronica.Franco]

19. Here's the correct link ..

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/washington/13protest.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[bemildred]

20. Glad you found it. nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

26. Your link takes me to an AD just like OP's.

I think it's due to how the NYTimes is setup and perhaps both of your links are correct. ;)

[Breeze54]

34. here

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/washington/13protest.html

[Felinity]

17. Click on Skip this Ad in upper right corner

And a K&R.

Please someone post a reminder next Thursday when part III is available.

[leftchick]

22. it worked fine for me

.

[bemildred]

24. Me too.

How you doin' LC?
:hi:

[leftchick]

25. I am okay

I could be better. How are you my friend? :hi:

[bemildred]

28. Good days and bad ones.

The world scares the poop out of me these days.
Glad Fall is here. My family is well.

[gratuitous]

21. What's that, Rush?

If I haven't done anything wrong, I don't have anything to worry about? Uh huh. Well, when I was marching in the streets and writing those letters, it wasn't against the law. Has ex post facto been repealed too?

[LynnTheDem]

27. Military... monitoring citizens...

Welcome to the USSA.

[EVDebs]

31. TALON, kinda reminds me of Jeff Gannon. Who watches these 'watchers' ?

And how do we prevent another MLK, Jr, surveillance system ? Isn't this TALON identical to what the Army was doing with its Military Intelligence Groups watching King during the '60s ? From the GreyLady weblink in original post:

""A document first disclosed last December by NBC News showed that the military had maintained a database, known as Talon, containing information about more than 1,500 “suspicious incidents” around the country in 2004 and 2005. Dozens of alerts on antiwar meetings and peaceful protests appear to have remained in the database even after analysts had decided that they posed no threat to military bases or personnel.""

[gorbal]

32. Here is a direct link to the actual documents

Share these with everyone you know-

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spyfiles/index.html

And thank Nader for the freedom of information act, no matter how much you blame him for election 2000.

[LoKnLoD]

33. I was at a AntiWar protest in Salt Lake City

a year or so ago and the police were walking the crowds with video cameras filming everybody's faces, gave me the creeps.

[Bushfire]

36. If I'm not on the list yet, feel free to add me

I'd be in good company...

[jazzjunkysue]

38. At least I know I'll be in good company when they pick me up.

Hello, my new cellmates.

[donkeyotay]

37. The US military spying on citizens who opposed this really stupid war

They ought to send an apology to every one in their KGB files and say, "WE'RE SO SORRY WE DIDN'T LISTEN TO YOU. YOU WERE RIGHT, AND WE WERE WRONG."

That'll happen. The military, spying on citizens for exercising their constitutional rights to try and keep their gummit from doing something stupid. Unbelievable. KGB.

[robertpaulsen]

39. Bookmarking this to forward to a Dem Congress in 2007.

Times are shitty, but I refuse to lose my optimism!

[Zhade]

41. Fascists!

NT!