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April 08, 2006
Changes will be made to controversial DoD database
The Houston Chronicle reported this week on a controversial database under Department of Defense intelligence agency Counterintelligence Field Activity. The database collects TALON reports (Threats and Local Observation Notices) and made news in December of 2005 when it was discovered the database was collecting information on domestic antiwar and antimilitary base protestors. The articles regarding the database prompted a Pentagon review which found "irregularities" of people and groups left in the database althought their "threat" was never verified. In a March 30 memo, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordan England stated that the program should only be used to report information on possible international terrorist activity and that it is a productive program.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said there are about 13,000 entries in the database, and that less than 2 percent either were wrongly added or were not purged later when they were determined not to be real threats.
Additionally, the article reports:
Whitman said Defense Department personnel who use the database also have gone through a refresher course on what should or should not be included. And, he said, there are new requirements that supervisors must review all the reports before they are submitted to the Counterintelligence Field Activity for entry into the database. Then CIFA must also review them before entering them in the database.
Posted by Laura Spadanuta at April 8, 2006 02:02 PM
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