The Pentagon wants to create another unit to keep records on a whole range of people.
The unit is called the Foreign Intelligence and Counterintelligence Operation Records.
The Pentagon says it is seeking records on “individuals involved in, or of interest to, DoD intelligence, counterintelligence, counterterrorism and counternarcotic operations or analytical projects, as well as individuals involved in foreign intelligence and/or training activities.”
All this came out in a Pentagon filing with the Federal Register on June 15.
For the most part, this language seems designed to cover people working for or with the Pentagon. But it also includes anyone “of interest to” the Pentagon’s intelligence operations, which could mean just about anybody.
And it appears especially concerned with “breaches of security related to DoD controlled information or facilities.”
According to the Washington Post, this may be a successor to the Pentagon’s notorious Talon program, which ended up collecting records on nonviolent U.S. citizens who were simply exercising their First Amendment rights.
This effort may also be related to the Pentagon’s concern about the people behind Wikileaks or to protesters at Pentagon facilities.
Under this new operation, the Pentagon could get your Social Security number, your phone number, your license plates, your passport number, your citizenship status, and your biometric data.
This new intelligence gathering operation is set to begin on July 15, unless there’s enough public outcry.
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine.