---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 17:43:13 -0600
From: Howard Bleicher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
FBI Database Monitors Pro-Life Groups
Washington -- It has been rumored for years, but dismissed as
nutty conspiracy theory, that the federal government has been
assembling an extensive database on pro-life organizations under
the auspices of tracking potential criminals involved with
"domestic terrorism." The Justice Department has admitted such a
federal task force exists but has denied it tracks innocent
civilians or groups.
Then how to explain newly obtained internal Justice Department
documents that lay out justification for "intrusive investigative
activity" by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, the U.S. Postal Inspection and U.S. Marshals services
and other federal law-enforcement agencies to compile dossiers on
groups as divergent as the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops, the National Rifle Association and the Women's Coalition
for Life?
The judiciary monitoring group Judicial Watch has obtained
hundreds of pages on this secret project called VAAPCON, an
acronym for Violence Against Abortion Providers Conspiracy,
sometimes just shortened to VAAP.
These never-before-seen records detail not just suspected
criminal activities by some factions of the pro-life movement,
but also the political activities, biographies and lobbying
efforts by some of the most well-known - and law-abiding groups -
in the country.
Consider this VAAPCON entry called "Profiles of Pro-Life
Groups. NOT PARTICIPATING IN DIRECT ACTION." It lists the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Americans United for
Life, Feminists for Life, Women's Coalition for Life, the
Christian Coalition and Concerned Women for America.
In one of the documents dating back to 1994 or early 1995, an
entry concerns the Catholic bishops' group: "Led by [the late]
Cardinal John O' Connor, the Conference is considered by many to
be the broadest, best organized and most powerful of the pro-life
groups. The Conference is primarily engaged in education and
provides information and technical assistance to pro-life offices
in the 189 dioceses and 18,000 parishes across the United States.
They strongly condemned the shooting of [Wichita, Kan.] Dr.
[George] Tiller, saying that 'there is no room in the pro-life
movement for violence.' They oppose the Clinic Access bill now
pending in Congress." (This reference apparently was to the 1994
Freedom of Access to Clinics law.)
Then there's this entry on the Women's Coalition for Life: They
"describe themselves as both pro-feminist and pro-life. It's an
umbrella organization of approximately 1.8 million members,
linking 15 existing grass-roots groups led by women opposed to
abortion. Founded in April 1992, the coalition counsels women in
crisis pregnancies and lobbies for antiabortion legislation. They
have formed a 'Susan B. Anthony List' to rival Emily's List and
provide financial support to pro-life women candidates in 1994."
The federal snoops had this to say about one of the nation's
largest women's group: "With about 600,000 members, Concerned
Women for America focuses on social issues like abortion ... but
has also attacked the Administration's health-care package and
the economic stimulus package. More recently, they attempted to
derail the nomination of Dr. Joycelyn Elders as U.S. Surgeon
General...."
Then there's this item from the secret database: "The Christian
Coalition is an evangelical advocacy group founded by the Rev.
Pat Robertson after his 1988 campaign for President. In the past,
the Coalition focused on such issues as abortion.... They are
presently trying to move more towards the mainstream. At their
recent annual conference, it was decided to expand their agenda
to include the economy and health-care reform. They engage almost
exclusively in lobbying and grass-roots organizing."
Larry Klayman, general counsel of Judicial Watch, whose group
obtained the documents under a Freedom of Information Act
lawsuit, asks: "What in the world are Janet Reno, Hillary, Bill
and their VAAPCON task force doing using law-enforcement
personnel to infiltrate, collect and assemble database
information of this type? We were told by one source that some in
the FBI objected to the monitoring of these groups on legal and
ethical grounds but were overruled by upper levels at Justice."
What is curious to even two senior federal law-enforcement
officials, one at the FBI and one at the Justice Department, is
that the database is under the auspices of the Criminal Division
and that virtually all entries are part of what's called an "FI"
tag - that is, a "full-investigation" label. "This is wrong and
it ought to be exposed for what it is, a political witch-hunt,"
said a concerned FBI agent.
Mixed in with the bishops, for example, is information on
violent groups and astounding details on surveillance and
monitoring techniques by a variety of federal law-enforcement
agencies. This includes tracking mail sent to or received from
all manner of organizations in contact with people in the federal
database, including the NRA, Nynex Telephone Corp. and even the
Blind Work Association in Binghamton, N.Y.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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