alternative reader no. 133
ACLU Sues Pentagon Over
Anti-War Group Monitoring
By Jon Hurdle
Reuters
Reposted by Bulatlat
Philadelphia - The
American Civil Liberties Union sued the US Defense Department on Wednesday
to demand information it says the government has collected on groups
opposed to the war in Iraq.
The
group says the Pentagon has been monitoring anti-war groups and
individuals and has compiled lists on people it sees as potential threats
but who the ACLU says are exercising their free-speech rights.
The suit
was the ACLU's first attempt to force the Pentagon to disclose domestic
surveillance and followed similar suits by the organization against the
FBI and the Justice Department.
"It's
absolutely improper for the US military to keep databases on lawful First
Amendment (free-speech) activities," said ACLU attorney Ben Wizner. "These
are peaceful, law-abiding groups and individuals that oppose US war policy
but pose no threat to the military."
The ACLU
said the Defense Department shared the information with other government
agencies through the database, known as the Threat and Local Observation
Notice, or Talon.
A
Pentagon spokeswoman said the Defense Department never commented on
pending lawsuits.
In
April, the Pentagon said a review found it had collected data on US peace
activists and discovered that about 260 entries in the Talon database
should not have been kept there or should have been removed.
The
suit, filed in US District Court for eastern Pennsylvania, charges the
Pentagon is refusing to comply with requests by the ACLU to declare who
had been monitored.
The ACLU
filed the requests after learning through an NBC News report of Pentagon
surveillance of peace groups.
The ACLU
has also challenged President George W. Bush's order authorizing the
National Security Agency to tap into private phone calls without court
permission.
The
latest suit is filed on behalf of some 30 groups, including the Americans
Friends Service Committee, also known as the Quakers.
14 June
2006
Posted by
Bulatlat
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