[2J[1m[37;41mĿ[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThis is a verbatim [typos and all] forward of a forward, which should be of  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mwide interest. To cut to the chase, the document that is the focus of this   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41marticle is at our site at                                                    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m     http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/cp/swett.html                            [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe FAS Secrecy and Government Project, which provided this little gem, also [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mhas lotsa other neat stuff at                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m     http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/sgp/                                     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThis copyrighted material is distributed here under the Fair Use doctrine,   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mfor review and commentary at this teachable moment. Other restrictions may   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mapply to further distribution and archiving. Check your local listings!!!    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mBegin forward:                                                               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mDate: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 13:57:30 -0800 (PST)                                  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFrom: Phil Agre <pagre@weber.ucsd.edu>                                       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSubject: Pentagon on the net                                                 [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m[I've removed the header, but the author's e-mail address is in the text.]   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThis message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE).    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSend any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below.    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mYou are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe "redirect" command.  For information on RRE, including instructions      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mfor (un)subscribing, send an empty message to  rre-help@weber.ucsd.edu       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe following is an article from The Nation magazine (March 4, 1996) that    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mreports on a Pentagon study on how the military can exploit the Internet.    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe Pentagon paper suggests using the Internet for the routine interception  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mof global e-mail, for covert operations and propaganda campaigns, and for    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtracking domestic political activity, particularly that of the left. The     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41marticle was written by David Corn, the Washington editor of The Nation. If   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41myou have any comments or leads for follow-up stories, please contact him at  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m202-546-2239/ph                                                              [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m202-546-1415/fx                                                              [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mdacor@aol.com                                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mTo subscribe to The Nation, a magazine of politics and culture, call         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m800-333-8536.                                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m........................................................................     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mPentagon Trolls the Net                                                      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mBy David Corn                                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mc1996                                                                        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mInternet users beware; Pentagon snoops are taking an interest in your        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcyber-communications. Last summer, Charles Swett, a policy assistant in the  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mOffice of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mLow-Intensity Conflict, produced a report  that assessed the intelligence    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mvalue of the Internet for the Defense Department. His study discovered the   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mobvious: By monitoring computer message traffic and alternative news sources [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mfrom around the world, the military might catch "early warning of impending  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msignificant developments." Swett reports that the "Internet could also be    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mused offensively as an additional medium in psychological operations         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcampaigns and to help achieve unconventional warfare objectives." A striking [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41maspect of his study is that there is one sort of Internet user who attracts  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41ma large amount of attention from Swett: cyber-smart lefties.                 [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe thirty-one-page, unclassified study is mostly cut and dry. Much of it    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mdescribes what the Internet is and what can be found within its infinite     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mconfines. Swett lists various "fringe groups" that are exploiting the        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mInternet: the white-supremacist National Alliance, the Michigan Militia,     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mEarth First, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). He      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mhighlights MUFON--the Mutual UFO Network--which uses the Internet to         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mdisseminate information on "U.S. military operations that members believe    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mrelate to investigations and cover-ups of UFO-related incidents." MUFON      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcomputer messages, Swett notes, "contain details on MUFON's efforts to       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mconduct surveillance of DoD installations." The report does not suggest that [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe computer communications of MUFON and these other groups should be        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtargeted by the military--though X Filers will be forgiven for wondering if  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msomething sinister is afoot.                                                 [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mWhat Swett apparently finds of greater interest than MUFON and the "fringe   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mgroups" is the online left. A significant portion of the report is devoted   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mto the San Francisco-based Institute for Global Communications, which        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41moperates several computer networks, such as PeaceNet and EcoNet, that        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mare used by progressive activists. I.G.C. demonstrates, he writes, "the      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mbreadth of DoD-relevant information available on the Internet." The paper    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mrefers to I.G.C. conferences that might be considered noteworthy by the      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mPentagon, including ones on anti-nuclear arms campaigns, the extreme right,  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msocial change, and "multicultural, multi-racial news." Swett cites I.G.C. as [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe home for "alternative news sources" that fill gaps in the mainstream     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mmedia.                                                                       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m(It might be good for Pentagon analysts to read I.G.C. dispatches from       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mHolland's Peace Media Service.) Yet he seems to say that one can  also track [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe left around the world by monitoring I.G.C.: "Although [I.G.C.] is clearly[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41ma left-wing political organization, without actually joining I.G.C. and      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mreading its message traffic, it is difficult to assess the nature and extent [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mof its members' actual real-world activities."                               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSwett's paper presents the world of opportunity awaiting a cyber-shrewd      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mmilitary and intelligence establishment. The Pentagon and intelligence       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mservices will conduct "routine monitoring of messages originating in other   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcountries" in the search for information on "developing security threats."   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThat means overseas e-mail, like overseas phonecalls, will be intercepted by [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe electronic eavesdroppers of the National Security Agency or some other   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41moutfit. The data will be fed into filtering computers and then, if it        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcontains any hot-button words, forwarded to the appropriate analyst.         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m"Networks of human sources with access to the Internet could be developed in [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mareas of security concern to the U.S." (But bureaucrats rest assured; "this  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mapproach"--using computer-assisted spies--"could never replace official DoD  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mintelligence collection systems or services.") The Internet "can also serve  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcounterintelligence purposes" by identifying threats to the Pentagon and     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mU.S. intelligence activities. As an example, Swett refers to a message       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mposted in a discussion group for "left-wing political activists" that        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mrepeated an A.P. article about an upcoming U.S. Army Special Operations      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mCommand training exercise at an empty Miami Beach hotel.                     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAnother growth area is the dirty tracks department. Noting that government   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mofficials, military officials, business people, and journalists all around   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe world are online, Swett envisions "Psychological Operations" campaigns   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41min which U.S. propaganda could be rapidly disseminated to a wide audience.   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mHe adds, "The U.S. might be able to employ the Internet offensively to help  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41machieve unconventional warfare objectives." Swett does not delve into        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mdetails on how the Internet could serve such a mission. But he tosses out    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mone possibility: communicating via the Internet with political and           [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mparamilitary groups abroad that Washington wants to assist while "limiting   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe direct political involvement of the United States." Imagine this:        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcontras with computers.                                                      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSwett does point to a few potential problems. The Internet is chockful of    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mchit-chat of no intelligence value. Retrieving useful nuggets will require   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mmonumental screening. He also predicts that one day video footage of         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mmilitary operations will be captured by inexpensive, hand-held digital       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mvideo cameras operated by local individuals and then up-loaded to the        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mInternet. Within minutes, millions of people around the world will see       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mfor themselves what has happened--which could lead to calls for action       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m(or calls to terminate action) before government leaders have had a chance   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mto react and formulate a position. Such a development, he observes, "will    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mgreatly add to the burden on military commanders, whose actions will be      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msubjected to an unprecedented degree of scrutiny." And opponents of the      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mPentagon might try to exploit the Internet for their own devilish ends:      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m"If it became widely known that DoD were monitoring Internet traffic for     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mintelligence or counterintelligence purposes,  individuals with personal     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41magendas or political purposes in mind, or who enjoy playing pranks, would    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mdeliberately enter false or misleading messages." The study ends with a      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mseries of vague recommendations--all to be carried out "only in full         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcompliance with the letter and the spirit of the law, and without violating  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe privacy of American citizens."                                           [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe Swett paper is "refreshingly candid," says Steven Aftergood of the       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFederation of American Scientists, who placed a copy of the document on the  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFAS web site on government secrecy, where it is being downloaded about twenty[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtimes a day (at http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/sgp/.).  The I.G.C. staff is  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mamused by Swett's interest. "We must be doing something right," notes George [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mGundrey, program coordinator of I.G.C.'s PeaceNet. "But it is interesting    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthat all of his [I.G.C.] examples are the most left-wing items [on the       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mnetwork]."                                                                   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSwett's study is not the first of its kind. Under the rubric of "information [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mwarfare," other Pentagon outfits and military contractors have studied how to[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41muse computer networks to collect public information, disseminate propaganda, [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mpolitically destabilize other governments, and plant computer viruses into   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe information systems of foes. (The latter task is particularly foolhardy. [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mDeploying viruses into cyber-space--even if targeted against an enemy--would [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mlikely pose a danger to the United States, since this country is more        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mnetworked than any other.) But Swett's office--the Pentagon's dirty tricks   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mshop--is a newcomer to this scene, acoording to David Banisar, a policy      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41manalyst for the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Banisar's group has   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mbeen helping international human rights groups use encryption to protect     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtheir global e-mai, "so the spooks don't listen in"                          [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mIt is natural that the national security gang will try to infiltrate and use [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41ma communication medium like the Internet to its advantage. What is most      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtroubling about Swett's paper is its preoccupation with left-of-center       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtravelers in cyberspace and _domestic_ political activities. In the appendix,[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSwett reproduces four examples of notable e-mail. One (written by progressive[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mactivists Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven) calls for 100 days of       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mprotest in response to the Republican's Contract with America, another       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mannounces plans for a demonstration at the 1996 G.O.P. convention in San     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mDiego, the third relays to lefties information on the U.S. Army exercise at  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe Miami Beach hotel, and the last is a communique from the Zapatistas of   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mMexico. Swett's use of these cyber dispatches can be explained one of two    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mways. Either the left has made much more progress in cyber-organizing than   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe right and "such fringe groups" as PETA, or Swett, true to institutional  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtradition, is overwrought about the use of the Internet by a certain parties.[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mIn any case, the would-be watchers in the defense establishment ought to be  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mwatched closely--especially if Swett's report refelcts broader sentiment     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mwithin the Pentagon.                                                         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m--                                                                           [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mJohn Pike                                                                    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFederation of American Scientists  http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/           [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mCyberStrategy Project              http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/cp/        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mIntelligence Reform Project        http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/irp/       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mMilitary Analysis Network          http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/man/       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSpace Policy Project               http://www.fas.org/pub/gen/fas/spp/       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
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