By Kenneth J. Theisen, 8/17/07
“Look up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no its”.” The
rest of the sentence no longer is “superman.” The answer now is more likely to
be “a spy satellite” and it may be aimed at you. In May, Director of National Intelligence Mike
McConnell approved a plan to allow the use of spy satellites by domestic
security officials. These spy satellites have already been used internationally
to spy on other nations, monitor “terrorist” movements, etc. But this is the first time that the
government has acknowledged their utilization for domestic spying. The new plan
was only recently revealed after the Democrat-controlled Congress conferred
massive spying powers on the Bush regime.
According to Steven Aftergood, the Director of the Project
on Government Secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists, “It
potentially marks a transformation of American political culture toward a
surveillance state in which the entire public domain is subject to official
monitoring”
But the Bush regime believes that this is a positive
development. The Department of Homeland (DHS) Security’s ranking intelligence
officer, Charles Allen, stated, “The view after Sept. 11 was that we ought to
move this to homeland security and broaden the domain. We obviously believe
this is a good expansion”. My view is that no American should be concerned.” Well Mr. Allen, I am concerned. These spy
satellites allegedly have sensors with the ability to penetrate buildings and
underground bunkers. Personally I do not
want the Bush regime to have that ability. Do you?
Jeffrey Richelson, senior fellow with the National Security
Archive in Washington,
talked about the capabilities of these satellites, “You also can get more
coverage more often. These satellites will cover during the course of their
orbits the entire United
States. They will be operating 24 hours a
day and using infrared cameras at night.”
The new plan calls for the creation of the National
Applications Office (NAO) which will coordinate requests from civilian agencies
for spy satellite information. The Office of the Director of National
Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security will be in charge of the
NAO oversight. Great! The spies will be overseeing the other spies. That makes
me feel safe.
But this program will not be limited to just national law
enforcement agencies. Eventually even
state and local law enforcement officials will be allowed to tap into the
technology according to the plan. On August 15th the Department of Homeland
Security said that DHS officials envision “more robust access” not
only to satellite photos and technology, but also to “the collection,
analysis and production skills and capabilities of the intelligence
community.”
Referring to the program as “Big Brother in the sky,” the Director
of the Center for National Security Studies Kate Martin said “They want to
turn these enormous spy capabilities, built to be used against overseas
enemies, onto Americans. They are laying the bricks one at a time for a police
state.” George Orwell must be
rolling in his grave.