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National Guard Begins Spying on Private Citizens in U.S.
(Don Thompson, The Associated Press, July 7, 2005)
Military authorities yesterday began investigating whether a California National Guard unit was created to spy on citizens, as dozens of demonstrators confronted Guard officials while armed soldiers stood by. . . . The federal probe of the nation's largest National Guard force involves the U.S. Army's inspector general, the federal National Guard Bureau's inspector general and the National Guard Bureau's legal division. . . . The unit has raised concern among peace activists that the Guard is resorting to the same type of civilian monitoring that helped fuel Vietnam War-era protests. During the 1960s and '70s, the military collected information on more than 100,000 Americans. Such monitoring, while not illegal, would be a departure for the Guard. . . . "These are your mothers, grandmothers and neighbors," said George Main, president of Veterans for Peace and an organizer of yesterday's protest outside Guard headquarters. About 30 demonstrators took part. . . . "They are not potential terrorist threats," Main said. "The excuse that these groups might be infiltrated is an insult to the intelligence of every Californian." . . . Under scrutiny is a California National Guard unit with a tongue-twisting name: the Information Synchronization, Knowledge Management and Intelligence Fusion program. [COMMENT by Lorenzo: Can you imagine a name much more Orwellian than that?] It was established last year, and came to public attention after a recent story in the San Jose Mercury News. . . . Investigators also are looking into the Guard's monitoring of a Mother's Day anti-war demonstration at the state Capitol that was organized by several peace groups.

posted by LoZo 4:07 PM