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New Surveillance Program Finds Another Use for Military Satellites

by Evan Shamoon on October 6, 2008 at 02:59 PM



Anyone who has been paying attention to the civil rights debacle that has been the Bush presidency will surely appreciate the irony of this one: A bill signed by President Bush last week allows the National Applications Office (NAO) to begin operating a limited version of a program that would turn military spy satellites towards our own soil. The images it captures will be shared with other federal, state, and local government agencies. Meanwhile, the government's own watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, warns (in an unpublished report) that the program, which is intended to grow in scope, does to privacy and civil liberties what Fox News does to video journalism and good taste.

As it exists for the time being, the NAO is restricted to monitoring activities such as "monitoring volcanic activity, environmental and geological changes, hurricanes, and floods." But as documentation has already made clear, officials at the Department of Homeland Security hope to "branch out" as well, providing assistance and information to domestic law enforcement agencies.

So, to summarize: yet another government agency is being set up to watch us. Where do we sign up!? [From: ArsTechnica]

Tags: government, safety, satellite, security, surveillance

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