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Agencies see homeland security role for surveillance drones ... Big Brother takes to the sky
(Richard H.P. Sia, CongressDaily, December 12, 2002)
Incoming Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., said in an interview Tuesday that he will ask President Bush to explore the possible deployment of such aircraft, known as unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, by civilian agencies responsible for homeland security. . . . The drones would be similar to those used in high-profile missions by the CIA and U.S. military to target suspected Taliban and al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. . . . Warner said he believes UAVs could be an effective means of watching the home front in the war on terror. But he acknowledged that �they�re quite intrusive.� Warner said concerns about individual privacy . . . Among the agencies now committed to deploying UAVs are the Coast Guard and Border Patrol, both of which are moving to the Homeland Security Department. Other non-Defense Department agencies, such as the Transportation Department, are in the early stages of exploring possible security roles for drones. . . . Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, interest in UAVs among federal agencies has swelled, industry sources said. �There�s been a lot more activity over the last couple of months,� said one manufacturing executive who asked not to be named. �It�s been really intense. We�re doing things now that we wouldn�t have been doing a year ago.�

posted by Lorenzo 5:58 AM