CA National Guard Sets Up State Intelligence Unit

Newspaper: Calif. National Guard sets up state intelligence unit

By: Associated Press

SACRAMENTO -- California's National Guard has set up a special intelligence unit intended to help local law enforcement deal with terrorist threats and integrate statewide investigations with international anti-terrorism initiatives, according to a newspaper report.

Guard officials say the new unit, established last year, will not violate long-standing rules barring the military from gathering information on American citizens.

Col. Robert J. O'Neill, director of the new program, said he sees the unit as a one-stop shop for local, state and national law enforcement to share information.

Guard intelligence officers will have access to national security information that they can analyze and determine if details should be shared with state and local law enforcement, O'Neill said.

"We are trying to integrate into their systems and bring them information that they don't have," O'Neill told the San Jose Mercury News.

But the creation of the Information Synchronization, Knowledge Management and Intelligence Fusion program is raising concerns among some civil libertarians.

"The National Guard doesn't need to do this," said Christopher Pyle, a former Army intelligence officer who helped expose a string of instances in the 1960s and 1970s, when the military collected information on more than 100,000 Americans. "Its job is not to investigate individuals, but to clear streets, protect facilities and help first responders."

Typically, the National Guard has been called upon to assist in circumstances such as natural disasters and riots. But with the strain on the U.S. military fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the units are more often being drawn into anti-terrorism efforts within the U.S.

Lt. Col. Stan Zezotarski said citizens need not be concerned that the military is watching them.

"We do not do any type of surveillance or human intelligence or mixing with crowds," Zezotarski said. "The National Guard does not operate in that way. We have always had a policy where we respect the rights of citizens."


http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/26/news/state/11_132343143523.txt