From the New York Times:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 — The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering.
The C.I.A. has also been issuing what are known as national security letters to gain access to financial records from American companies, though it has done so only rarely, intelligence officials say.
More:
But it was not previously known, even to some senior counterterrorism officials, that the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency have been using their own "noncompulsory" versions of the letters. Congress has rejected several attempts by the two agencies since 2001 for authority to issue mandatory letters, in part because of concerns about the dangers of expanding their role in domestic spying.
Another front for the 'War on Civil Rights and Privacy' since war is the only context in which this administration can see these matters. As is par for the course, they point backward to precedent, but as is inevitable with this administration, they neglect, abuse, and corrupt that precedent. And the justification is always the same:
Government lawyers say the legal authority for the Pentagon and the C.I.A. to use national security letters in gathering domestic records dates back nearly three decades and, by their reading, was strengthened by the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act.
The problem of course is that although intelligence and military powers can be wielded for good, would you trust this government?
Some Democrats have accused the F.B.I. of using the letters for fishing expeditions, and the American Civil Liberties Union won court challenges in two cases, one for library records in Connecticut and the other for Internet records in Manhattan. Concerned about possible abuses, Congress imposed new safeguards in extending the Patriot Act last year, in part by making clear that recipients of national security letters could contact a lawyer and seek court review. Congress also directed the Justice Department inspector general to study the F.B.I.’s use of the letters, a review that is continuing.
Meanwhile the, "Patriot Offense," continues:
The military had used the letters sporadically for years, officials say, but the pace accelerated in late 2001, when lawyers and intelligence officials concluded that the Patriot Act strengthened their ability to use the letters to seek financial records on a voluntary basis and to issue mandatory letters to obtain credit ratings, the officials said.
The problem?
Mr. Fidell said he found the practice "disturbing," in part because the military does not have the same checks and balances when it comes to Americans’ civil rights as does the F.B.I. "Where is the accountability?" he asked. "That’s the evil of it — it doesn’t leave fingerprints."
Even when a case is closed, military officials said they generally maintain the records for years because they may be relevant to future intelligence inquiries. Officials at the Pentagon’s counterintelligence unit say they plan to incorporate those records into a database, called Portico, on intelligence leads. The financial documents will not be widely disseminated, but limited to investigators, an intelligence official said.
And this platform with this power-obsessed executive simply cannot be trusted. Isn't the fundament of the rule of law in this country supposed to be innocent until proven guilty and not the other way around? Yet this 'offensive' strategy by our government in the name of anti-terrorism activities should no signs of being of the people, by the people, and for the people.
The Counterintelligence Field Activity office, created in 2002 to better coordinate the military’s efforts to combat foreign intelligence services, has drawn criticism for some domestic intelligence activities.
The agency houses an antiterrorist database of intelligence tips and threat reports, known as Talon, which had been collecting information on antiwar planning meetings at churches, libraries and other locations. The Defense Department has since tightened its procedures for what kind of information is allowed into the Talon database, and the counterintelligence office also purged more than 250 incident reports from the database that officials determined should never have been included because they centered on lawful political protests by people opposed to the war in Iraq.
(all emphasis mine) But the reports WERE included which sends a dominating message to the American public, which is that the false veil of security will always come before the basic rights of dignity and human integrity. Of course, Cheney hit the circuit today in his attempt to convince us how 'normal' and 'protective' this all is. I am not buying it though. Simply put, these practices are violative of the spirit of Democracy and without primary checks and balances and the true separation of powers, they cannot be allowed to stand.