[iwar] Groups Question FBI Protest Monitoring

Groups Question FBI Protest Monitoring
CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press
Updated: November 27th, 2003 01:07:12 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Civil liberties groups and politicians raised the
prospect Sunday that FBI monitoring of anti-war protesters could stifle
legitimate dissent and jeopardize people's First Amendment right to speak
their mind.

``What is the chilling effect that will be felt by Americans all across the
country if they think they will come under FBI scrutiny just by going to a
protest?'' said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil
Liberties Union.

An FBI official on Sunday denied any effort to collect intelligence on
people exercising their rights to free speech. The official said the effort
was aimed at providing police around the country with information about how
such protests should be handled, including the possibility of violence.

In one of its weekly bulletins sent to thousands of law enforcement
agencies nationwide, the FBI last month detailed some of the tactics used
by anti-war protesters that police could expect at large rallies in San
Francisco and Washington to protest the Iraq war. Past such bulletins,
which usually concern terrorist threats and activities, also have discussed
activities by such groups as environmental advocates and anti-globalization
activists.

The bulletins are confidential, but, largely because of their wide
dissemination, several have been obtained by The Associated Press and other
media organizations. The New York Times first provided details Sunday about
the October bulletin, which concerned the anti-war protests.

Among other things, the bulletin described how protesters plan their
tactics at ``training camps,'' how they use gas masks to defend against
tear gas, and how some use fake identification to get into secure places.
The document also says that while most such demonstrators are peaceful,
protests such as those against the World Bank have turned violent in the past.

Critics called attention to a section of the bulletin that urges police to
report suspicious or unlawful activity to their local Joint Terrorism Task
Force, a multiagency group run by the FBI. ACLU's Romero said that has the
effect of equating protest with terrorism and, more broadly, casts a pall
of suspicion over anyone who disagrees with the Iraq war or other
government anti-terrorism policies.

``There is a very clear difference between legitimate forms of civil
disobedience and terrorism, and we have to keep that in mind,'' Romero said.

During the anti-war demonstrations of the Vietnam War era, in the late
1960s, the FBI undertook a broad program to spy on and neutralize what it
called the ``New Left,'' often translated into opponents of the U.S.
involvement in Southeast Asia. ``Cointelpro,'' for ``counterintelligence
programs,'' grew out of anti-communist spying of the 1950s and used shady
or illegal tactics to counter terrorism and people who threatened terrorist
violence.

Speaking Sunday on ABC's ``This Week'' program, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy,
D-Mass., said the story about the FBI showed him that the Bush
administration is going to ``extraordinary lengths'' to attack anyone who
disagrees with the Iraq war.

``That, I think, is fundamental flaw of this administration. It is
absolutely outrageous in terms of what this country is about,'' Kennedy
said. ``How could we be fighting abroad to defend our freedoms and
diminishing those freedoms here at home?''

The FBI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bureau is
not collecting intelligence on protesters but wants to identify extremist
elements, such as pro-environment organizations that destroy SUVs and
anti-globalization groups that vandalize private property.

Most of the October bulletin, the official said, stemmed from publicly
available material about the protesters and was intended ultimately to
educate and inform local police about who is behind violent acts and how to
stop them.
be

"Never Mistake Motion for Action"
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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Received on Sat Nov 29 02:39:10 2003