Kristian Williams - Our Enemies in Blue - Police and Power in America

chive.aclu.org/congress/110101a.html (accessed December 22, 2002).143 Mazza, "President Signs New Anti-Terrorism Bill."144 ACLU, "USA Patriot Act."145 Ibid.146 Ibid.147 Mazza, "President Signs New Anti-Terrorism Bill."148 "These information sharing authorizations effectively put the CIA back in the business of spyingon Americans: Once the CIA makes clear the kind of information it seeks, law enforcementagencies can use tools like wi retaps and intelligence searches to provide data to the CIA. In fact,the law specifically gives the Director of Central Intelligence-who heads the CIA-the powerro identifY domestic intelligence requirements." ACLU, "USA Patriot Act."149 John Ashcroft. Quoted in Eric Lichthlau et aI., "Response to Terror: Justice Dept. to TightenFocus on Terrorism Law," Los Angeles Times, Novemher 9, 2001 [database: News Collection fromDialog@CARL, accessed November 1 1, 2001J.150 Richard W Stevenson, "Signing Homeland Security Bill, Bush Appoints Ridge as Secretary,"New York 7imes, November 26, 2002, http://\\ww.nytimes.comI2002111126/politics/26Bush.html (accessed November 28, 2002).151 President Bush outlined these responsihilities when signing the legislation: "First, this new departlllentwill analyze intelligence information on terror threats collected hy the CIA, the FBI, theNational Security Agency and others. The department will match this intelligence against thenation's vulnerahilities-and work with other agencies, and the private sector, and state and localgovernments to harden America's defenses against terror."Second, the department will gather and focus all our efforts to face the challenge of cyberterrorism,and the even worse danger of nuclear, chemical, and biological terrorism. This departmentwill be charged with encouraging research on new technologies that can defeat these threatsin time to prevent an attack."Third, state and local governments will be ahle to turn fo r help and information to onefederal domestic security agency, instead of the more than 20 agencies that currently divide theseresponsihilities. This will help our local governments work in concert with the fe deral governmentfo r the sake of all the people of America."Fourth, the new department will bring together agencies responsible for border, coastline, andtransportation security. There will be a coordinated effort to safeguard our transportation systems andto secure the border so that we're better able to protect our citizens and welcome our friends."Fifth, the department will work with state and local officials to prepare our response toany future terrorist attack that may come .... " "President Bush Signs Homeland Security Act: Remarksby the President at the Signing of H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act of 2002" PressRelease (November 25, 2002), www.whitehouse.gov/newslrelease/2002/11120021125-6.html.(accessed December 21, 2002).152 Human Rights Watch, "U.S. Homeland Security Bill: Civil Rights Vulnerable and ImmigrantChildren Not Protected," http://www.hrw.org/pressI2002/ 11/homelandl 121.html (accessedDecember 11, 2002).153 Jennifer Van Bergen, "Homeland Security Act: The Rise of the American Police State (Part III ofa 3-Part Series)," Truthout, December 4, 2002, http://www. truthout.org/docs_02/1 2/03B.juh.hsa.3.html (accessed Decemher 11, 2002).The legal expansion of government power must be understood in the context of itssimultaneous technological advance. For an overview of the surveillance technology in use, see:European Union. Parliament. Scientific and Technical Options Assessment. An Appraisal of the7echnologies of Political Control: Up dated Executive Summary Prepared as a Background Documentfor the September 1998 Part-Session (Septembet 1998), www. europarl.eu.int/dg4/stoa/en/pub-Iii 166499/execsum.htm, (accessed August 2, 2000).The Homeland Securi ty Act allegedly put the brakes on two of the administration's mostcontroversial proposals. Operation TlPS, through which everyday citizens could report on thesuspicious activities of their friends and neighbors, was explicitly barred by the law; nevertheless,it is being implemented at the state and local levels. Nat Hentoff, "Ashcroft's Shadowy Disciple:Someone to Watch Over Us," Village Voice, November 15, 2002, http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0247/hentoff.php(accessed December 11, 2002).Likewise, the work of the Total Information Awareness program, which would have beenresponsible fo r developing and employing computer technology to compile vast digital filesabout individual Americans, has been divided between two distinct agencies. The Pentagonis developing new data mining technology and the Directorate of Information Analysis andInfrastructure Protection is collecting the actual information and maintaining the files. Linda S.Heard, "Spies, Snitches and Eyes in the Sky," CounterPunch, December 10, 2002, http://www.counterpunch.org/heard 121 O.html (accessed December 11, 2002) .281