Non-Subscriber Extract
US plans to widen access to intelligence satellite data
24 October 2007
The United States intelligence community plans to allow more federal and local authorities to access data from US reconnaissance satellites for counter-terrorism and other law enforcement purposes. Such use would be unprecedented and could encounter legal difficulties and other barriers.
The decision, made by National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell and Michael Chertoff, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), reflects a desire to leverage US technological assets against terrorists, criminals and other threats. The chief intelligence officer at DHS, Charles Allen, will supervise the initiative. Current plans are to create the National Applications Office, a new body within DHS, to co-ordinate and evaluate requests by civilian agencies for such data.
The primary use of US intelligence satellites so far has been to monitor military developments outside the US. During the Cold War, such national means of verification helped enforce arms control agreements by identifying possible violations.
Since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, intelligence satellites have played an essential role in assessing the progress of the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes, as well as monitoring the potential movement of chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological agents by illicit trafficking networks. In addition, space-based reconnaissance has enhanced the ability of US intelligence to assess the activities of terrorist groups and other militants in remote regions, such as northwest Pakistan, which are generally off-limits to Central Intelligence Agency officers or other US intelligence personnel.
If used for purposes of US homeland security, US space-based intelligence assets could assist with monitoring the entry and exit of people and vehicles across US borders, protecting critical US infrastructure by identifying threats and vulnerabilities, and assessing natural and man-made disasters in cases when the environment requires remote sensing (such as in the middle of a major hurricane or shortly after an earthquake or a nuclear or chemical explosion).