- WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A controversial
Pentagon "big brother" program that called for monitoring computer
databases containing data on millions of Americans for signs of terrorist
activity has been hit with a "delete" key, a Democratic US lawmaker
announced late Wednesday.
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- Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said House and Senate negotiators
hashing out details of the 2004 defense appropriations bill had decided
to withhold all the funds from the Terrorism Information Awareness (TIA)
program, all but guaranteeing its demise.
-
- The decision will become final when President George
W. Bush signs the measure, which he is largely expected to do.
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- The Defense Department had no comment on the move. But
Wyden, who has tirelessly campaigned against the surveillance program,
was elated, calling the decision by the conferees wise.
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- "Ive always said I believe that you can fight terrorism
vigorously without cannibalizing civil liberties, and TIA did not meet
that test," the senator said in a statement. "Time and time again,
the Defense Department sought to cross the line on privacy and civil liberties
in the name of fighting terrorism."
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- The program conceived by retired admiral Join Poindexter
of Iran-contra fame has been in the crosshairs of numerous civil liberties
groups for months.
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- It called for developing a pattern of terrorist behavior
and keeping track of individuals and find out whether they fit into the
model.
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