[news.infoshop.org] The American Civil Liberties Union recently came across a revealing RNC Homeland Security Document. This official document (http://www.aclu-mn.org/downloads/homelandsecurity.pdf)
was uncovered by the website Wikileaks, which according to its website
"We help you safely get the truth out". This document outlines the
planning leading up to the Republican National Convention and how
security forces would be working together during the RNC. Many federal,
state and local organizations were mentioned in this document, a number
of which the ACLU did not know were involved. A number of these
agencies are military based, which may directly conflict with Federal
law that prohibits the military from engaging in domestic intelligence
gathering.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), is one of the
organizations that is mentioned in the report that is particular cause
for concern. NGA provides mapping tools and imagery intelligence that
are obtained from the United State’s military spy satellites which are
controlled by the National Reconnaissance Office. In other words during
the RNC, these top spying tools could have been utilized to gather
intelligence on the homes of activists and media workers who were a
part of the demonstrations. That information could have then been
relayed to local officials.
A second agency that was involved in the planning is the Pentagon’s
Northern Command, NORTHCOM. Having NORTHCOMM at the table, assisting in
the planning is troubling because it could mean that the military was
involved in the crowd control strategies and dealing with potential
civil unrest. According to a report in Army Times, it said that an
active military unit has been deployed by NORTHCOM in the United
States. This deployment marks the first time an active unit has been
given a dedicated assignment within U.S. Borders.
Furthermore it appears that the FBI may have been using a station
faking technology that would allow them to locate an individual through
their cell phone. The ACLU is concerned with how this technology is
used and if there was proper judicial oversight. In the USA Patriot
ACT, this process for obtaining a track was made easier, and could
allow for little to no judicial oversight. This tracking via cell
phones could have been used during the RNC without the knowledge of
even the phone companies.
"These behaviors are a radical departure from separation of civilian
law enforcement and military authority, and could, quite possibly,
represent a violation of law," said Teresa Nelson, ACLU of Minnesota.
The ACLU-MN will continue to investigate and will use their findings in
future lawsuits against law enforcement officials.
Source: http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20081126110546503
