http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/04/24/ a6a_Truth_Boxes_0424.html What is the TALON database, Pentagon intelligence group Monday, April 24, 2006 902nd Military Intelligence Group
Nicknamed 'The Deuce,' the Fort Meade, Md.-based group is the Pentagon's biggest counterintelligence unit. Mission: Protecting the U.S. Army from espionage and subversion while enforcing federal law prohibiting obstruction of military recruitment during a time of war. History: Launched in New Guinea in 1944 to thwart spying on the Army, and worked against the Soviet Union's KGB during the Cold War. After Sept. 11, 2001, the 902nd took on anti-terrorism assignments in the United States. Operations: Its 308th Military Intelligence Battalion has offices at most military installations, including about a half-dozen agents in Orlando and Miami. The 308th watches over Army bases, assesses vulnerability to spying and collects counterintelligence at Defense Department testing facilities. Information on suspicious activity flows to the 902nd from the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, local police forces and concerned citizens. Tips also can come through the 902nd's hot line, (800) CALLSPY, or by e-mail, through [EMAIL PROTECTED] When the 902nd receives word of suspicious activity that may indicate terrorism afoot, it forwards the information for inclusion in the Pentagon's TALON threat database. Wolfowitz TALON The Threat and Local Observation Notice database established in 2003 by then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Amid public criticism that the Pentagon missed cues before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he sought to coordinate information from all the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies fighting terrorism. How it works: Unvetted tips about suspicious activity are entered into the database to determine whether any of these 'dots' of information can be connected. The database is accessible by law-enforcement agencies across the country involved in homeland security. The controversy: Public outrage over domestic spying erupted in December, after NBC News first reported that the TALON database contained information on peaceful activists in Lake Worth and elsewhere in the country. In March, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England ordered an annual internal review of the program, including whether regulations protecting citizens' privacy were followed. The Defense Department's Inspector General also is auditing the program. Despite the controversy, the department stands by the program and says it has detected terrorist activity. The Truth Project The Lake Worth-based Truth Project contends military recruiters oversell the benefits of enlistment. It aims to provide high-school students with an alternative viewpoint. The group drew national attention in December, when NBC News reported that the group, which met at a Quaker Meeting House, was infiltrated by the government and placed on the TALON database. Its leader, Rich Hersh, ended up testifying before a congressional panel investigating the database's use. The group has eight board members and 20 other volunteers. -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
