Pentagon: Database that includes Vermont protests being reviewed - Boston.com

Pentagon: Database that includes Vermont protests being reviewed - Boston.com: "Pentagon: Database that includes Vermont protests being reviewed

December 22, 2005

MONTPELIER, Vt. --The Pentagon said it is inspecting a database of details about suspicious activity after a news report said the database listed anti-war activities, including two in Vermont.

The Pentagon said in an e-mail it views 'with the greatest concern any potential violation' of its policy governing the accumulation of information on groups or individuals suspected to domestic terrorists.

'There is nothing more important to the U.S. military than the trust and good will of (the) American people,' a Pentagon spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The Pentagon also said the undersecretary of defense for intelligence has directed a thorough review of the system to be sure that it complies with Pentagon rules and U.S. laws.

The Pentagon was responding to a report earlier this month by NBC News, which said it had obtained a secret Department of Defense database that listed 1,500 suspicious incidents around the country in a 10-month period.

The list included two protests planned against military recruiters in Vermont in March, describing them as a threat. The list said the threat was found to be not credible.

On Wednesday, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking for more information.

Leahy said it appeared the collections had included monitoring peaceful anti-war and counter-military recruitment groups in Vermont.

He asked Rumsfeld to explain by Jan. 15 how the Defense Department determined that domestic groups might pose a threat and describe how the information was collected in Vermont."