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I'm a Soldier, Not a Spy
By Grant Doty
12/30/05 "Washington
Post" -- -- As Americans take stock of the
news that the government has been involved in domestic warrantless
eavesdropping as well as surveillance of "potentially threatening
people or organizations inside the United States," many people are
troubled, including me.
Although the government may be interested in my ACLU membership, my
wife's participation in war protests or my affiliation with the
liberal United Church of Christ, my real anxiety stems from the fact
that I am a soldier and may now be under suspicion from my friends
and neighbors.
Specifically, given the information slowly leaking out of
Washington, it may not be farfetched for some to think that when I
"stumble across people or information" that might be of interest to
the government, I might report it to the Pentagon's three-year-old
Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA).
While such a conclusion would be false (I hadn't heard of CIFA
before reading about it in the news this month), in an Orwellian
world, the protestations of someone labeled the "eyes and ears" of
the state are reasonably suspect.
What makes me think that the people with whom I interact regularly
will somehow believe I won't report suspect words and actions? When
I walk to my bus stop in Bethesda each morning, I see who has a "War
Is Not the Answer" yard sign. One of the people I regularly see on
my commute wears a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
button on her overcoat. My church, which prayed for me during my
year in Iraq, has an e-mail list that informs me about local civic
actions, including war protests. I attend night law school,
frequently in uniform, and through the social network of law
students know when the gay, lesbian and bisexual organization is
planning to lead the picketing of Judge Advocate General Corps
recruiters who come to campus.
Now that we've learned that the military may be collecting such
"raw, unverified information" in the form of "Talon reports," my
fear is that when friends and neighbors see me, in or out of
uniform, their speech could be chilled. I wonder: Will I begin to
see a change in behavior? Will my neighbors draw their shades more
often? Will they think twice about putting a bumper sticker on their
car? Will I be deleted from the church list? Will my law school
class discussions be more reserved?
"Paranoia," some may say. The only people who need to worry are
those with something to hide. This may be true. In fact, being with
the president or against him in the war on terrorism may be the
current controversy, but I can envision a time when antiabortion
groups and churches might fear soldiers attending meetings or
services if such groups are labeled "threats" by a subsequent
administration. Are they sincere pro-lifers or moles? Perhaps gun
owners' groups might feel that soldiers are joining to get access to
membership lists or activities if such groups are deemed
"dangerous." Is one a Second Amendment defender or domestic spy?
Yes, I took an oath to defend the United States against all enemies
"foreign and domestic," but the implication of domestic
intelligence-gathering by the military, even by a limited number of
soldiers, should be sufficiently disturbing for American citizens in
and out of uniform that we think long and hard about crossing the
line, even a little.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
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