"Fusion Centers" Product Shoddy Intel, Spy On Citizens

[Marauder06]

http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_new...produce-shoddy-work-report-says?lite=obinsite

The ranking Republican on a Senate panel on Wednesday accused the Department of Homeland Security of hiding embarrassing information about its so-called "fusion" intelligence sharing centers, charging that the program has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars while contributing little to the country's counterterrorism efforts.
In a 107-page report released late Tuesday, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said that Homeland Security has spent up to $1.4 billion funding fusion centers -- in effect, regional intelligence sharing centers-- that have produced "useless" reports while at the same time collecting information on the innocent activities of American Muslims that may have violated a federal privacy law.

"Shoddy intel." "Useless products." Maybe these fusion centers can work with the Asymmetric Warfare Group on ways to identify potential radical extremists.

 

[18C4V]

Yup, people trying to justify HSU budgets especailly in small built up areas where generally nothing happens.

 

[Kraut783]

Fusion centers re-hashing existing IIRs...they want to take CT away from the FBI....crazy turf battles

 

[QC]

I really don't know why they bother. The FBI seems to do things faster. HSINT...what a joke.

 

[LimaOscarSierraTango]

This is interesting. I was at a terrorism symposium the day this came out. One of the speakers was talking about the fusion centers. I thought it was the FBI that was talking about them, but it may have actually been DHS now that I think of it. It sounded like they work in conjunction with the FBI and it has helped out quite a bit (at least out in NorCal). But then again, maybe they just needed to justify their job?

Really, it sounded like it was a place for paranoid citizens to report anything they felt they needed to report, and LEO's can pass on any extra info to the FBI for anything that may be in their jurisdiction.

 

[SpitfireV]

Fuckin' castlebuilding. See it here, too.

 

[QC]

Farkin' A bro. The NCA here was the same.

 

[Marauder06]

IIRC (no guarantee of that) these "fusion centers" came about after someone saw the success that the Task Force had with similar centers in Iraq and Afghanistan. "If it worked for the Task Force, it will work for us, too!" It briefs well, but a lot of people saw the kinds of things we were doing and tried to emulate it, and failed miserably.

There are some "best practices" in SOF that are transferable, many are not. This may have been one of them.

 

[DirtySailor]

I am reading about fusion centers...I find their role confusing.

 

[Worldweaver]

I am reading about fusion centers...I find their role confusing.

My understanding is that they're a way to privatize and store personal information without cause, which the Government cannot do but a private security company can, and then facilitate the interaction between multiple agencies.

I'll take circumvent the Constitution for $500 Alex.

 

[DirtySailor]

Wow. Intelligence oversight not matter anymore? Guess not...