The Militant - March 31, 2003 -- FBI increases use of spy planes for domestic snooping

Vol. 67/No. 10 March 31, 2003

FBI increases use of spy planes
for domestic snooping

BY MAURICE WILLIAMS
As Washington launches its war against Iraq, dozens of FBI spy aircraft fly over cities across the United States. At the same time, U.S. warplanes may be patrolling New York City.

New York police officials have drafted a "security plan," named "Operation Atlas," that involves combat aircraft flying overhead. The cops will request the Defense Department dispatch the planes and the Federal Aviation Administration will supposedly limit patrols to the airspace over Manhattan, according to the New York Times.

More than 80 FBI spy aircraft are already flying the U.S. skies. They are equipped with electronic surveillance equipment that allows agents to snoop on people while driving, walking the street, making cell phone calls, or standing inside buildings.

Several planes, dubbed "Nightstalkers," are outfitted with infrared equipment that enables agents to follow people and vehicles in the dark. The aircraft, which include helicopters, also fly "photography missions," according to the Associated Press.

As part of the snooping operations, agents plant bugs or listening devices in cars, buildings, and along streets.

The planes are propeller-driven civilian models designed with an "unobtrusive appearance" to fly at low speeds. While the spy agency will not reveal where the planes are being used, they have been observed snooping on individuals. In Bloomington, Indiana, for example, "residents spotted a Cessna aircraft flying overhead at roughly the same times every day for more than a week," CNN reported March 15. After initially denying the spy operation, local FBI agents claimed they were involved in a "terrorism investigation."

No warrants are legally required for the FBI to snoop on people from the air. An unnamed FBI official insisted the aircraft are used to target specific individuals for whom the agency has a warrant to spy on cell phone calls, rather than spying on random citizens.

Congress approved a $20 million increase for the FBI’s aviation budget this year in which nearly 90 percent of its flights are spy missions.

The FBI has been using spy planes since 1938. In 1975 the agency organized a major snooping operation using the aircraft during its assault on Native Americans at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Over the last year, however, spying by plane has jumped.

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