Military Spying on American Citizens

Originally found this linked at Schneier.

Now here is something to make you uncomfortable.

The Defense Department has expanded its programs aimed at gathering and analyzing intelligence within the United States, creating new agencies, adding personnel and seeking additional legal authority for domestic security activities in the post-9/11 world.

The moves have taken place on several fronts. The White House is considering expanding the power of a little-known Pentagon agency called the Counterintelligence Field Activity, or CIFA, which was created three years ago. The proposal, made by a presidential commission, would transform CIFA from an office that coordinates Pentagon security efforts -- including protecting military facilities from attack -- to one that also has authority to investigate crimes within the United States such as treason, foreign or terrorist sabotage or even economic espionage.

The Pentagon has pushed legislation on Capitol Hill that would create an intelligence exception to the Privacy Act, allowing the FBI and others to share information gathered about U.S. citizens with the Pentagon, CIA and other intelligence agencies, as long as the data is deemed to be related to foreign intelligence. Backers say the measure is needed to strengthen investigations into terrorism or weapons of mass destruction.

The proposals, and other Pentagon steps aimed at improving its ability to analyze counterterrorism intelligence collected inside the United States, have drawn complaints from civil liberties advocates and a few members of Congress, who say the Defense Department's push into domestic collection is proceeding with little scrutiny by the Congress or the public.

So mixing the Military Intelligence department with Civilian intelligence starts to sound suspicious to me. The military really shouldn't be involved in internal investigations of citizens and giving them access to information on regular citizens also leaves open that privacy issue.

I wouldn't have so much of an issue if there was a civilian institution that works as a go-between for the military to civilian information. The more people that have access to civilian information, the more likely that your privacy will be violated.

Each of the services apparently have an intelligence group that would be allowed access to the FBI databases. With access to this data, what could the military do to mine information that they don't technically have an allowance to? Also, could these intelligence organizations be used to bypass the intelligence protections that prevent abuses by certain authorities.

The CIFA was set up to allow the military to protect their local assets. Personally, I think that should be a job for the FBI. Even if they need to work in cooperation with the military, the investigation of citizens should be by an agency that is answerable to the citizenry.

If there is a need for additional intelligence assets inside the US, then they should be civilians. What comes next? Weakening of Posse Comitatus?