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Pentagon anti-bomb force 'improperly retained' information on Americans
Source: The Guardian
Pentagon anti-bomb force 'improperly retained' information on Americans
Spencer Ackerman in New York
theguardian.com, Friday 19 December 2014 19.26 GMT
The Pentagon’s taskforce charged with stopping insurgent bombs has for years inappropriately acted as an intelligence agency, according to a declassified internal report obtained by the Guardian.
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) collected information on American companies and their executives, people inside the United States, US military personnel and Afghan farmers. Despite internal Pentagon criticism, it continues to carry out intelligence functions.
JIEDDO used aliases and impersonated US college students to gather information. It pursued US firms doing business with a Pakistani company with no real ties to terrorism. It collected and “improperly retained” US telephone numbers, as well as those from among the US’ “Five Eyes” intelligence partners: the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. On at least one occasion, JIEDDO mishandled information it accessed from a National Security Agency database.
JIEDDO disputes that it actually “collected” intelligence, preferring to say it “aggregated” already-existing intelligence and public data.
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Spencer Ackerman in New York
theguardian.com, Friday 19 December 2014 19.26 GMT
The Pentagon’s taskforce charged with stopping insurgent bombs has for years inappropriately acted as an intelligence agency, according to a declassified internal report obtained by the Guardian.
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) collected information on American companies and their executives, people inside the United States, US military personnel and Afghan farmers. Despite internal Pentagon criticism, it continues to carry out intelligence functions.
JIEDDO used aliases and impersonated US college students to gather information. It pursued US firms doing business with a Pakistani company with no real ties to terrorism. It collected and “improperly retained” US telephone numbers, as well as those from among the US’ “Five Eyes” intelligence partners: the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. On at least one occasion, JIEDDO mishandled information it accessed from a National Security Agency database.
JIEDDO disputes that it actually “collected” intelligence, preferring to say it “aggregated” already-existing intelligence and public data.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/19/pentagon-bomb-force-intelligence-americans