Boo hoo...
Michelle Malkin's got her undies in a twist again! She and other apologists are trying to pull a fast one by claiming that Clinton's use of satellite imagery after the Oklahoma City bombing was no different than what Bush has had the NSA doing.
WRONG, as usual...
When I've surfed all I can for the fun stuff, I sometimes take a masochistic trip to
the other side.
This woman doesn't do her homework and certainly doesn't know anything about the law or the intelligence community.
Today, she quotes a "report" that says:
The McCurtain Daily Gazette reported Wednesday that it had obtained a Secret Service log indicating that on May 2, 1995 -- two weeks after the April 19 bombing -- the FBI was [using spy satellites for] trying to locate suspects for questioning.
and she is totally dismayed that there was
No civil liberties circus. No White House press corps pandemonium.
despite her claim that
persons familiar with the project say any domestic use of these satellites is barred by agreements between the CIA and DoD.
Anyways... here are the major issues in a nutshell, and why Michelle is talking out of her ass again.
FISA is concerned with electronic surveillance and physical searches:
US Code TITLE 50, CHAPTER 36, SUBCHAPTER I, § 1801 defines this as follows:
(f) "Electronic surveillance" means--
(1) the acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any wire or radio communication sent by or intended to be received by a particular, known United States person who is in the United States, if the contents are acquired by intentionally targeting that United States person, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes;
(2) the acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any wire communication to or from a person in the United States, without the consent of any party thereto, if such acquisition occurs in the United States, but does not include the acquisition of those communications of computer trespassers that would be permissible under section 2511 (2)(i) of title 18;
(3) the intentional acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any radio communication, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes, and if both the sender and all intended recipients are located within the United States; or
(4) the installation or use of an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device in the United States for monitoring to acquire information, other than from a wire or radio communication, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes.
This is Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), not Imagery Intelligence (IMINT). FISA doesn't care about the NGA (nee NIMA).
It is true that President Reagan's 1981 Executive Order 12333 states:
2.3Collection of Information. Agencies within the Intelligence Community are authorized to collect, retain or disseminate information concerning United States persons only in accordance with procedures established by the head of the agency concerned and approved by the Attorney General, consistent with the authorities provided by Part 1 of this Order. Those procedures shall permit collection, retention and dissemination of the following types of information:
(a) Information that is publicly available or collected with the consent of the person concerned;
[snip]
(h) Information acquired by overhead reconnaissance not directed at specific United States persons;
[snip]
but an AP article from last year also goes on to say:
... the FBI or another agency could use an NGA-produced aerial photograph to solve a domestic crime. But the NGA couldn't take actions to target a specific individual, such as highlight a suspect's home, unless the information was linked directly to a national security issue.
Can Michelle Malkin safely say that the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City was not a matter of national security?
And we still have a flagrant violation of FISA by Preznit Bush.
Incidentally, Wikipedia cites other recent "events" for which we use photo reconnassaince from classified space programs:
9/11 aftermath
"After the September 11, 2001 attacks, NIMA partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey to survey the World Trade Center site and determine the extent of the destruction"
Olympic support
"In 2002, NIMA partnered with Federal organizations to provide geospatial assistance to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah". They also helped shape the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
While the Space Shuttle Columbia was in orbit during STS-107, NIMA purportedly offered to image the shuttle and its suspected damage from falling debris during takeoff. NASA declined this offer, but has since forged an interagency agreement with NGA to collect imagery for all future space shuttle flights.
Hurricane Katrina
NGA is supporting Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. It "is providing geospatial information about the affected areas based on imagery from commercial and U.S. government satellites, and from airborne platforms, to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other government agencies"