Has this been missed? I tried looking for it..if so, I will delete this diary.
MSNBC and NBC News
Updated: 9:27 p.m. ET March 9, 2006
The Department of Defense admitted in a letter obtained by NBC News on Thursday that it had wrongly added peaceful demonstrators to a database of possible domestic terrorist threats. The letter followed an NBC report focusing on the Defense Department's Threat and Local Observation Notice, or TALON, report.
I guess it's official now. We thought it was happening all along, we were sure of it. Who thought they'd admit it?
Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Roger W. Rogalski's letter came in reply to a memo from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who had demanded answers about the process of identifying domestic protesters as suspicious and removing their names when they are wrongly listed.
"The recent review of the TALON Reporting System ... identified a small number of reports that did not meet the TALON reporting criteria. Those reports dealt with domestic anti-military protests or demonstrations potentially impacting DoD facilities or personnel," Rogalski wrote on Wednesday.
"While the information was of value to military commanders, it should not have been retained in the Cornerstone database."
Er. Oops. We didn't mean to gather it, we didn't mean to keep it. But don't worry, we've erased it now. You can trust us.
Really. We mean it this time.
Well anyway, there must have been something threatening about these gatherings, I mean, they must have been at least reasonable to watch, given their proximity to military installations. I'm sure of it. Right?
The Defense Department document provides an inside look at how the U.S. military has stepped up intelligence gathering since 9/11. The database includes nearly four dozen antiwar meetings or protests, including some that have taken place far from any military installation, post or recruitment center, according to NBC News' Lisa Myers, who first wrote about the story in December.
Among those listed were a large antiwar protest in Los Angeles in March 2004 that included effigies of President Bush and antiwar protest banners, a planned protest against military recruiters in December 2004 in Boston, and a planned protest in April 2004 at McDonald's National Salute to America's Heroes -- a military air and sea show in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
And of course, dangerous, dangerous Quakers, if you recall.
But of course, now that they've deleted these records, we can all relax now, right?
Incredible.