[Infowarrior] - Liberties Advocates Fear Abuse of Satellite Images

[Richard Forno]

August 17, 2007
Liberties Advocates Fear Abuse of Satellite Images
By ERIC SCHMITT
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/17/us/17spy.html?ei=5090&en=54ee7068cc313140&
ex=1345003200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 ‹ For years, a handful of civilian agencies have used
limited images from the nation¹s constellation of spy satellites to track
hurricane damage, monitor climate change and create topographical maps.

But a new plan to allow emergency response, border control and, eventually,
law enforcement agencies greater access to sophisticated satellites and
other sensors that monitor American territory has drawn sharp criticism from
civil liberties advocates who say the government is overstepping the use of
military technology for domestic surveillance.

³It potentially marks a transformation of American political culture toward
a surveillance state in which the entire public domain is subject to
official monitoring,² said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on
Government Secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists.

At issue is a newly disclosed plan that Mike McConnell, director of national
intelligence, approved in May in a memorandum to Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff, which puts some of the nation¹s most powerful
intelligence-gathering tools at the disposal of domestic security officials
as early as this fall.

The uses include enhancing seaport and land-border security, improving
planning to mitigate natural disasters, and determining how best to secure
major events, like the Super Bowl or national political conventions.
Eventually, state and local law enforcement officials could be allowed to
tap into the technology on a case-by-case basis, once legal guidelines are
worked out, administration officials said.

Spy satellites, which provide higher-resolution photographs than commercial
satellite imagery, and in real time, have traditionally been used overseas
to monitor terrorist movements and nuclear tests. Their expanded use in
domestic surveillance marks a new era in intelligence gathering, conjures up
images of ³Big Brother in the sky,² and raises civil liberties concerns.

³This touches so many Americans, it can¹t be allowed to be discussed behind
closed doors,² said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington
legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The new data sharing comes as Congress passed legislation this month that
broadened the Bush administration¹s authority to eavesdrop without warrants
on some Americans¹ international communications.

Administration officials say that in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks,
the government has been looking for ways to use spy satellites and other
sensors to strengthen the nation¹s defenses against terrorism.

³The view after Sept. 11 was that we ought to move this to homeland security
and broaden the domain,² Charles E. Allen, the Department of Homeland
Security¹s top intelligence officer, said Thursday in a telephone interview.
³We obviously believe this is a good expansion.²

The new plan largely follows recommendations included in a 2005 independent
study group led by Keith R. Hall, a former head of the National
Reconnaissance Office who is a vice president of the consulting firm Booz
Allen Hamilton.

³Today, policies and practices governing the use of I.C. capabilities, many
of which predate 9/11, discourage rather than encourage use by domestic
users especially law enforcement,² the report said. The abbreviation I.C.
refers to the intelligence community.

³The ultimate effect is missed opportunities to collect, exploit and
disseminate domestic information critical to fighting the war on terrorism,
preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters natural and
man-made,² the report said.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the active-duty military forces
from conducting law enforcement missions on American soil, and Mr. Allen
underscored that the new information-sharing would not violate that ban.

Mr. Allen said that the new program would be especially useful for disaster
planning, and for policing land and seaports. He said the effort might
eventually share information with domestic law enforcement officials but
only after a careful review that would take several months.

³We are not going to be penetrating buildings, bunkers or people¹s homes
with this,² Mr. Allen said. ³I view that as absurd. My view is that no
American should be concerned.²

A new office within the Homeland Security Department, called the National
Applications Office, will be responsible beginning in October for
coordinating requests from civilian agencies for spy satellite information.

The Homeland Security Department and the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence would be responsible for overseeing the program. Reviews would
be conducted by agency lawyers, inspectors general and privacy officers.

Civil liberties advocates complained that the agencies could not be trusted
to supervise themselves, and that Congress needed to play a larger oversight
role.

An official with the House Intelligence Committee said the panel had been
notified of the program last spring but had not been given details of the
data-sharing, and would ask for a full briefing when lawmakers returned in
September from their summer recess.

³Crystal-clear rules on the use of such information are needed to protect
the privacy of the American people,² said Representative Jane Harman, a
California Democrat who heads the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on
Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment.