Antiterror database also included tips about antiwar planning meetings

[dajoki]

NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/washington/21protests.html?ex=1321765200&en=7b5b1ffdeb40ff87&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Military Documents Hold Tips on Antiwar Activities

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and MARK MAZZETTI
Published: November 21, 2006

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 — An antiterrorist database used by the Defense Department in an effort to prevent attacks against military installations included intelligence tips about antiwar planning meetings held at churches, libraries, college campuses and other locations, newly disclosed documents show.

<<snip>>

The head of the office that runs the military database, which is known as Talon, said Monday that material on antiwar protests should not have been collected in the first place.

<<snip>>

“I don’t think the policy was as clear as it could have been,” he said. Once the problem was discovered, he said, “we fixed it,” and more than 180 entries in the database related to war protests were deleted from the system last year. Out of 13,000 entries in the database, many of them uncorroborated leads on possible terrorist threats, several thousand others were also purged because he said they had “no continuing relevance.”

Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U. in New York, said the new documents suggested that the military’s efforts to glean intelligence on protesters went beyond what was previously known. If intelligence officials “are going to be doing investigations or monitoring in a place where people gather to worship or to study, they should have a pretty clear indication that a crime has occurred,” Mr. Wizner added.

The leader of one antiwar group mentioned repeatedly in the latest military documents provided to the A.C.L.U. said he was skeptical that the military had ended its collection of material on war protests.

[nam78_two]

1. K&R for Volume 100000000...of this sort of crap

:grr:

(As an aside has anyone else noticed how almost every biggish story the Times breaks these days is by Lichtblau?)

[NYC]

2. No, but thanks for pointing that out.

I'll keep watching.