[Infowarrior] - Satellite-Surveillance Plan Aims to Mollify Critics

[Richard Forno]

Satellite-Surveillance Plan Aims to Mollify Critics
By SIOBHAN GORMAN
December 20, 2007; Page A4

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119812248622741723.html?mod=hps_us_whats_new
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WASHINGTON -- After delaying a domestic satellite-surveillance program for
more than two months, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff expects
to finalize a new charter for it this week, a move that attempts to quell
civil-liberties concerns and get the program back on track.

Mr. Chertoff also plans soon to unveil a cyber-security strategy, part of an
estimated $15 billion, multiyear program designed to protect the nation's
Internet infrastructure. The program has been shrouded in secrecy for months
and has also prompted privacy concerns on Capitol Hill because it involves
government protection of domestic computer networks.

Both areas put Homeland Security in the middle of a public debate over
domestic spy powers, kicked off by the revelation two years ago that the
National Security Agency had been eavesdropping on some conversations in the
U.S. without a warrant. In the fall, the department put the satellite
program on hold after an outcry on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers have also asked
Mr. Chertoff to delay the introduction of the cyber-security initiative.
"One lesson I've learned is it's not enough to say we know what we're doing
is going to be OK," Mr. Chertoff said in an interview. "We've got to really
make it clear to the public that we're doing this, but we're not doing
that."

The satellite program, which would be run by a new department branch called
the National Applications Office, would expand the domestic use of satellite
imagery by federal and local authorities.

Congress lashed out at the department when The Wall Street Journal reported
plans for the program in August. Mr. Chertoff suspended the program until
legislators received more information. The satellite-spy technology was
originally developed to monitor activities and people outside the U.S.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi
said his committee received its last update on the spy-satellite program
three months ago. "We still haven't seen the legal framework we requested or
the standard operation procedures on how the NAO will actually be run," he
said. In a spending bill Congress passed yesterday, lawmakers prohibited the
department from spending money on the program until Mr. Chertoff certifies
the program is legal and the Government Accountability Office reviews the
certification.

In creating the charter, Mr. Chertoff said there had been "back and forth"
over keeping the language clear and simple. "If it is jargon-laden, then
people look at it and say, 'What's the hidden agenda here?'"

The charter will clarify that the satellite program will follow all current
U.S. legal restrictions on technical surveillance. Where a warrant is
required for collection, one will be obtained before that activity is
approved. Under the charter, the program won't use technology to intercept
verbal communications.

Write to Siobhan Gorman at siobhan.gorman at wsj.com