[Infowarrior] - Spy Satellites Turned on the U.S.

[Richard Forno]

Spy Satellites Turned on the U.S.
Dems Call for Moratorium on Program, Expressing Privacy and Legal Concerns
By JASON RYAN

Sept. 6, 2007 ‹

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3567635

Traditionally, powerful spy satellites have been used to search for
strategic threats overseas ranging from nuclear weapons to terrorist
training camps.

But now the Department of Homeland Security has developed a new office to
use the satellites to secure U.S. borders and protect the country from
natural disasters.

Department of Homeland Security officials testified Thursday before the
House Homeland Security Committee about the program and faced extensive
criticism about the privacy and civil liberty concerns of the new office,
called the National Applications Office.

The purpose of the National Applications Office is to provide the Department
of Homeland Security and civil, state and local emergency planners with
imagery and data from satellites run by the National Reconnaissance Office
and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Homeland Security Chief Intelligence Officer Charlie Allen said overhead
imagery was used extensively after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and
has been used by the Secret Service for security preparations for events
such as the Super Bowl.

"Some Homeland Security and law enforcement users also in the past routinely
accessed imagery and other technical intelligence directly from the
intelligence community, especially in response to national disasters such as
hurricanes and forest fires," Allen said.

Committee members expressed concern about abuse of the satellite imagery,
charging that Homeland Security had not informed the oversight committee
about the program.

"What's most disturbing is learning about it from The Wall Street Journal,"
said Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

The lawmakers also expressed concern about using military capabilities for
U.S. law enforcement and Homeland Security operations, potentially a
violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the military from serving
as a law enforcement body within the United States, except where
specifically authorized by Congress or the Constitution.

In written testimony, Dan Sutherland, the Homeland Security officer for
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, assured the committee, "We will assist the
NAO by keeping a watchful eye on several key civil liberties issues."

Department of Homeland Security officials said that the National
Applications Office would review requests from agencies such as the FBI and
the border patrol for the imagery.

"We will not be able to penetrate buildings & there could be some infrared
capabilities," Allen said.

Committee members said that in addition to not being informed about the
National Applications Office program, they had not yet been provided with
documents defining the limits and legal guidance about the program.

Late Thursday, top Democrats on the committee sent a letter to Homeland
Security saying, "We are so concerned that, as the department's authorizing
committee, we are calling for a moratorium on the program."

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Thompson, along with subcommittee
chairs Reps. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and Chris Carney, D-Pa., also wrote,
"Today's testimony made clear that there is effectively no legal framework
governing the domestic use of satellite imagery for the various purposes
envisioned by the department. & The use of geospatial information from
military intelligence satellites may turn out to be a valuable tool in
protecting the homeland."

The committee members have asked that Homeland Security provide the
committee with legal documents and the standard operating procedures for the
program before they consider the issue further.

Referring to the recent controversy over the potential abuse of the National
Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, Rep. Harman said at
Thursday's hearing that the Bush administration "has been making security
policy in the executive branch without full regard for the laws that
Congress has passed."

Allen said the National Applications Office would operate "in accordance
with the laws."

Although Homeland Security had notified the appropriations committee of the
program, Allen apologized to the members of the Homeland Security Committee
for not being more forward with them.

"You briefed the appropriators, not the authorizers," Thompson charged.

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