At Least 186 AntiWar Protests In US Have Been Monitored By Pentagon's Domestic Surveillance Program

[kpete]

U.S. Military Spied on Hundreds of Antiwar Demos
Aaron Glantz
OneWorld US
Thu., Jan. 25, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 24 (OneWorld) - At least 186 antiwar protests in the United States have been monitored by the Pentagon's domestic surveillance program, according to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which also found that the Defense Department collected more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in a single anti-terrorism database.

The documents were obtained by the ACLU through a Freedom of Information Act request filed last February.

"It cannot be an accident or coincidence that nearly 200 antiwar protests ended up in a Pentagon threat database," Ann Beeson, associate legal director of the ACLU, said in a statement. "This unchecked surveillance is part of a broad pattern of the Bush administration using 'national security' as an excuse to run roughshod over the privacy and free speech rights of Americans."

The internal Defense Department documents show it is monitoring the activities of a wide swath of peace groups, including Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, Code Pink, the American Friends Service Committee, the War Resisters League, and the umbrella group United for Peace and Justice, which is spearheading what organizers hope will be a massive march on Washington this Saturday.

more at:
http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/145395/1/

[MadHound]

1. I'm betting that estimate is on the low end of the scale

I've noticed that at every major anti-war rally in my midwest college town there are always a few very serious, very "heavy" looking men with some very fine camera equipment getting a nice little video record of the procedings. These are rallies that have drawn out 2000 max. If they're paying that sort of attention to relatively minor spots like mine, imagine what they're doing elsewhere.

I just smile and flash them the peace sign.

[Robbien]

2. See. There are plenty of protests

I so hate seeing that worn out phrase "where is the rage". The Rage is all over the place.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

3. Tin soldiers . . .

. . . and Bushes comin'.


K&R

[demnan]

4. They have hidden cameras now in Layfayette Sq. Park

You know, the park everybody goes to to protest because it's right in front of the White House. I noticed the flashing of the cameras every couple of minutes or so when I was up there protesting a few weeks ago (right after the escalation announcement).

[Deep13]

5. With all that surveillance, you'd think we'd have found bin Laden by now.

:mad: