Counterintelligence Field Activity

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Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) is a US Department of Defense (DoD) agency whose size and budget are classified. It appears CIFA was created by a directive from the Secretary of Defense (Number 5105.67) on February 19, 2002.

1 Mission
2 Organization
3 Joint Protection Enterprise Network (JPEN) database
4 Privacy issues
5 Proposed mission changes
6 See also
7 References
8 Sources

[edit] Mission

The mission of DoD's CIFA is to develop and manage DoD Counterintelligence (CI) programs and functions that support the protection of the Department, including counterintelligence support to protect DoD personnel, resources, critical information, research and development programs, technology, critical infrastructure, economic security, and U.S. interests, against foreign influence and manipulation, as well as to detect and neutralize espionage against the DoD.

[edit] Organization

The Director of DoD CIFA reports directly to DoD's Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence - C3I) / Chief Information Officer.

For certain functions the DoD CIFA is treated as a Combat Support Agency. It consists of: (1) A Director, (2) The Joint Counterintelligence Evaluation Office (JCEO), the Joint Counterintelligence Analysis Group (JCAG), the Defense Counterintelligence Information System (DCIIS) Program Office, the Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy (JCITA), and the Defense Counterintelligence Force Protection Response Group (FPRG).

In carrying out the mission of these elements, the Director of the DoD CIFA may employ law enforcement personnel, in whole or in part, as appropriate, to carry out the DoD CIFA's law enforcement functions.

[edit] Joint Protection Enterprise Network (JPEN) database

DoD's CIFA manages the database of "suspicious incidents" in the United States or the Joint Protection Enterprise Network (JPEN). It is an intelligence and law enforcement system that is a near real-time sharing of raw non-validated information among DoD organizations and installations. Feeding into JPEN are intelligence, law enforcement, counterintelligence, and security reports, information from DoD's "Threat and Local Observation Notice" reporting system of unfiltered information (TALONs), and other reports.

There are seven criteria taken into account in the creation of a TALON report:

Nonspecific threats.
Surveillance.
Elicitation.
Tests of security.
Repetitive activities.
Bomb threats.
Suspicious activities and/or incidents

Army regulation 190-45, Law Enforcement Reporting, states that JPEN may be used to share police intelligence with DOD law enforcement agencies, military police, the US Army Criminal Investigation Command and local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies.

[edit] Privacy issues

The domestic collection of data by military agencies was strictly regulated in the wake of COINTELPRO by the laws like the Privacy Act of 1974, which strengthed and specified a United States' citizen's right to privacy as noted in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In addition, the Supreme Court of the United States found in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) the right to privacy against government intrusion was protected by the "penumbras" of other Constitutional provisions. The DoD has reflected these in its own guidelines that have been in place since 1982^[1].

CIFA's similar collection and retention of data on peace groups and other activists has promoted parallels to be drawn between the two programs by civil rights groups like the ACLU^[2], and intelligence officials^[3]^[4] who find the prospect of the military tracking peace groups again to be worrisome.

After ACLU filed multiple FOIA requests regarding information gathering on peace groups and NBC did a report^[5] citing a Quaker group planning an anti-enlistment action that was listed as a "threat", a review of CIFA activities was ordered by then Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen A. Cambone^[6], who stated at the time that it appeared that there had been several violations.

A complaint requesting the expedition of the FOIA requests^[7] by the ACLU was ruled in their favor by a federal court. The released documents showed that at least 126 peace groups' information had been held past required removal dates. The DoD has since stated that it has removed all improperly kept data.

The Bush Administraton has broadly defended all of its domestic spying activities by stating that they are acting within the law as provided by the Constitution. Specifically, Article Two of the United States Constitution that suggests that the President has the chief responsibility to protect America from attack. In addition to Article Two, the President (and CIFA) may rely on Congress' specific Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, (“AUMF”) and the War Powers Resolution as foundation, though many Congresspeople asked about this have stated that they do not support this interpretation, and that it was not their intention on signing the AUMF to give the Executive Branch the ability to conduct domestic spying outside of FISA.

Since CIFA is associated with law enforcement, the USA Patriot Act and in particular, Patriot Act's Title II: Enhanced Surveillance Procedures and Patriot Act's Sec. 504, entitled "Coordination with law enforcement," that gave increased powers of surveillance to this DoD agency may support its actions in the gathering and distribution of information.

[edit] Proposed mission changes

In November 2005, the White House was reported to be considering whether to provide a lesser known agency called the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) with additional new powers and responsibilities. Its expanded powers would include the authority to investigate crimes such as treason, foreign or terrorist sabotage, and economic espionage. Unlike other intelligence agencies within the Defense Department, it would be permitted to receive intelligence information concerning US Citizens from the FBI, CIA, and other civilian intelligence agencies. The proposal has been criticized by at least one member of the US Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence for allowing "the military to spy on Americans."

Discussions are underway (2006) that propose a controversial merger between CIFA and Defense Security Service (DSS)^[8]. Critics say the merger would create a Secret Police spying on Americans.