[Infowarrior] - DHS To Kill Domestic Satellite Spying

Tue Jun 23 11:38:58 UTC 2009

  WASHINGTON, June 22, 2009
DHS To Kill Domestic Satellite Spying
Napolitano To Nix Bush Administration Program, Funded In Obama Budget

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/22/politics/main5104893.shtml

(AP)  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to kill a  
program begun by the Bush administration that would use U.S. spy  
satellites for domestic security and law enforcement, a government  
official said Monday.

Napolitano recently reached her decision after the program was  
discussed with law enforcement officials, and she was told it was not  
an urgent issue, said the official, who spoke on condition of  
anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about it.

The program was announced in 2007 and was to have the Homeland  
Security Department use overhead and mapping imagery from existing  
satellites for homeland security and law enforcement purposes.

The program, called the National Applications Office, has been delayed  
because of privacy and civil liberty concerns.

The program was included in the Obama administration's 2010 budget  
request, according to Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat and  
House Homeland Security Committee member who was briefed on the  
department's classified intelligence budget.

Harman said Monday she had not been given final word that the program  
would be killed. She said she would talk to Napolitano on Tuesday.

Harman has been outspoken about her concerns that the program is  
unnecessary, far reaching and open-ended.

"I thought this was just an invitation to huge mischief," Harman said.  
Of killing the program, she said, "It shows real leadership on the  
part of Janet Napolitano."

Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said Napolitano began looking  
at the program shortly after she became secretary. Kudwa said the  
department expects to announce the results of that review soon.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he hoped the department wasn't canceling  
the program.

"If it is true, it's a very big mistake," said King, who is the top  
Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. "This is  
definitely a step back in the war on terror."

For years, domestic agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management  
Agency and Interior Department have had access to this satellite  
imagery for scientific research, to assist in response to natural  
disasters like hurricanes and fires, and to map out vulnerabilities  
during a major public event like the Super Bowl.

Since 1974 the agency's requests satellite imagery have been made  
through the federal interagency group, the Civil Applications Committee.

The Bush administration, however, decided to funnel the requests  
through the Homeland Security Department and expand their use for  
homeland security and law enforcement purposes.

After receiving a letter from Los Angeles Police Chief William  
Bratton, Napolitano decided the program should be canceled.

Bratton, in his role as head of the Major City Chiefs Association,  
wrote on June 21 that the program, as envisioned by the Bush  
administration, is not an urgent need for local law enforcement.

Instead, Bratton said, Homeland Security should focus on the fusion  
centers across the country and improving information-sharing with  
state and local officials to improve the domestic intelligence picture.

Bratton said he was unaware whether police chiefs have been consulted  
by Bush administration officials about the satellite program.

"To my knowledge, this is the first opportunity major law enforcement  
organizations have had to participate in this significant and complex  
initiative," he said in the letter.