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Federal air marshals have begun following ordinary US citizens not suspected of a crime or on any terrorist watch list and collecting extensive information about their movements and behavior under a new domestic surveillance program that is drawing criticism from within the agency.
The previously undisclosed program, called "Quiet Skies," specifically targets travelers who "are not under investigation by any agency and are not in the Terrorist Screening Data Base," according to a Transportation Security Administration bulletin in March.
The internal bulletin describes the program's goal as thwarting threats to commercial aircraft "posed by unknown or partially known terrorists," and gives the agency broad discretion over which air travelers to focus on and how closely they are tracked.
[...] But some air marshals, in interviews and internal communications shared with the Globe, say the program has them tasked with shadowing travelers who appear to pose no real threat — a businesswoman who happened to have traveled through a Mideast hot spot, in one case; a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, in another; a fellow federal law enforcement officer, in a third.
Since this initiative launched in March, dozens of air marshals have raised concerns about the Quiet Skies program with senior officials and colleagues, sought legal counsel, and expressed misgivings about the surveillance program, according to interviews and documents reviewed by the Globe.
"What we are doing [in Quiet Skies] is troubling and raising some serious questions as to the validity and legality of what we are doing and how we are doing it," one air marshal wrote in a text message to colleagues.
Source: http://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/graphics/2018/07/tsa-quiet-skies/?p1=HP_SpecialTSA [Ed Note: Not available for all browser modes]
Also at CNN, Fortune, The Verge, and The Hill.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday July 30 2018, @07:45PM (10 children)
Even just the phrase "Homeland Security" came off as more than a bit totalitarian. It also raises the question: If "Homeland Security" is the department protecting the US territory and its people, what is the Department of Defense actually defending?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 30 2018, @08:17PM (3 children)
The Department of Defense is defending the Department of Homeland Security.
(Score: 2, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 30 2018, @08:58PM (2 children)
Sorry, but you've been mislead. There are actually people who are talking about getting rid of the DoD, or making DoD subordinate to Homeland. Can you tell me how that compares to Nazi Germany, or to Soviet Russia?
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Monday July 30 2018, @09:18PM
They didn't say Homeland. Germany, they said Fatherland. And Russia, they said Motherland. Nice way to honor the fathers & mothers!!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Tuesday July 31 2018, @04:49AM
And there are people talking about how the Earth is flat, the Moon is fake, and the Freemasons, working with Satan, are keeping that all secret through an intricate web of fear and lies. Maybe we shouldn't treat stuff seriously just because someone talks about it?
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 30 2018, @08:19PM
Profits!
(Score: 4, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Monday July 30 2018, @09:00PM
"Homeland Security" brings to mind stern men in sharp uniforms boarding buses and trains and saying "Papers please" to the passengers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 30 2018, @10:20PM (1 child)
For many years I've thought that DoD was misnamed, should be the Department of Offense.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday July 30 2018, @11:39PM
Well, it used to be the War Department, until the United States decided they weren't going to fight wars anymore and instead would engage the enemy in authorized military enforcement actions. Which I'm sure gave great comfort to the Koreans, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Grenadans, and everyone else that has ended up in American crosshairs at some point or another.
It's transparently a piece of propaganda.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Arik on Tuesday July 31 2018, @01:28AM (1 child)
Overseas bases. Around 800 of them, *not* including the ones that float around, they call those 'aircraft carriers.'
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 31 2018, @10:58AM
You know that if you ever get in a serious conflict those floating bases won't be floating for long. It is ridiculously easy to send them to see Davy Jones.