The Eyes Have It
Secret surveillance programs designed to thwart future terrorist attacks raise questions about how far is too far
The nondescript vans motored along city streets, drove through parking lots, and idled on the driveways of suburban homes. Inside, government technicians monitored sensitive gauges, testing for the presence of radiation in the air. The classified program, run by the FBI and the Energy Department's Nuclear Emergency Support Team, checked some 120 sites day and night for nearly two years following the 9/11 attacks, searching the greater Washington, D.C., area for evidence of a terrorist dirty bomb or nuclear device.
No such evidence was ever found, and the monitoring is now largely restricted to special events and times of high alert. But the program has left a bitter taste with some close to it, who have complained that the monitoring--much of it done on private property--was done without search warrants, sources say. The law remains unclear on how far federal agents can go in these cases, but the operation, revealed December 22 by U.S. News, has added to concerns about the reach of U.S. security agencies since 9/11. A string of revelations in recent weeks suggests that domestic spying programs may be far broader than previously thought. Among the reports:
The National Security Agency, charged with monitoring overseas communications, has secretly eavesdropped on hundreds, possibly thousands, of Americans without obtaining warrants. The New York Times, which broke the story, also revealed that the NSA is engaged in a large "data mining" operation, plumbing through U.S. phone calls and E-mails in search of terrorist links.
The FBI has run post-9/11 counterterrorism investigations into animal rights, environmental, and antiwar groups, including Roman Catholic peace activists, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and Greenpeace, according to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act.
The FBI has dramatically expanded its use of "national security letters," formal requests for Americans' phone records, E-mail, and financial transactions. Historically, such letters were used only rarely; today, however, the FBI reportedly issues over 30,000 of the letters a year, without review by any court.
_ Defense Department intelligence operatives are keeping tabs on groups protesting the Iraq war and military recruiting efforts. A 400-page database obtained by NBC News lists nearly four dozen antiwar meetings or protests, including some occurring far from any military facility or recruiting center.
New York Police Department undercover officers have joined antiwar and even bicycle-rider rallies, according to videotapes screened by the press. In at least one case, an apparent undercover officer incited a crowd by faking his arrest.
Government officials have offered spirited defenses in most of these cases. The allegations of spying have been misinterpreted and exaggerated, they say, and insist that the public expects law enforcement and intelligence agencies to be aggressive in the age of terrorism. President Bush was unapologetic about the NSA's warrantless intercepts. "I've reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September 11 attacks," he told a press conference, "and I intend to do so for so long as our nation . . . faces the continuing threat of an enemy that wants to kill American citizens." Americans, Bush aides say, want the president to err on the side of security.
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