WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- The U.S. military spies on
individuals protesting Halliburton, Newsweek reports today.
In an article titled, "The Other Big Brother," investigative journalist Michael Issikopf
reports that a "harmless" anti-Halliburton protest in 2004 by 10 peace activitists
outside the company's Houston headquarters "was regarded as a potential threat
to national security" by people inside the Bush administration.
The purpose of the 2004 protest "was to call attention to allegations that the
company was overcharging on a food contract for troops in Iraq," Issikopf writes.
The protest was organized by anti-Halliburton activist Scott Parkin, who was
deported by the government of Australia in 2005 for organizing peaceful teach-ins
on Halliburton's war contracts.
Issikopf reports that the spying activity was conducted by the ultra-secret
Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), created three years ago by the Defense
Department to track threats and terrorist plots against military installations and
personnel inside the United States.
According to Issikopf, "In May 2003, Paul Wolfowitz, then deputy Defense
secretary, authorized a fact-gathering operation code-named TALON—short for
Threat and Local Observation Notice—that would collect 'raw information' about
'suspicious incidents.' The data would be fed to CIFA to help the Pentagon's
'terrorism threat warning process,' according to an internal Pentagon memo."
But the article says the leaders of the domestic spying program admit "the outfit
may have gone too far."
Issikopf reports that "there are now questions about whether CIFA exceeded its
authority and conducted unauthorized spying on innocent people and
organizations." A Pentagon memo obtained by Issikopf reveals that the deputy
Defense secretary "now acknowledges that some TALON reports may have
contained information on U.S. citizens and groups that never should have been
retained." The number of citizens named in the TALON reports "could be in the
thousands," says a senior Pentagon official quoted by Issikopf.
These revelations are the latest in several recent disclosures showing that the Bush
administration is spying on benign peace groups and individuals in the name of
national security.
Cheney called the spy program "vital" to the country's defense against al Qaeda.
"Either we are serious about fighting this war on terror or not," he said in a speech
to the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. Issikopf said the new
information about CIFA shows "the scope of the U.S. government's spying on
Americans may be far more extensive than the public realizes," adding, "It isn't
clear how many groups and individuals were snagged by CIFA's dragnet."
Issikopf's article concludes: "A Pentagon spokesman declined to say why a private
company like Halliburton would be deserving of CIFA's protection." But since the
military has worked closely with contractors in the past, the Defense Department
has included the protection of military contractors in its spy program.
More Information: http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/CIFA.html
