BOSTON (Reuters) –
“They can train themselves over the Internet. They never have to necessarily go to the training camp or speak with anybody else and that diffusion of a combination of hatred and technical skills in things like bomb-making is a dangerous combination,” Chertoff said. “Those are the kind of terrorists that we may not be able to detect with spies and satellites.”To help gather intelligence on possible home-grown attackers, Chertoff said Homeland Security would deploy 20 field agents this fiscal year into “intelligence fusion centers,” where they would work with local police agencies.
What Is a Fusion Center? From the DOJ’s Fusion Center Guidlines:
A fusion center is an effective and efficient mechanism to exchange information and intelligence, maximize resources, streamline operations, and improve the ability to fight crime and terrorism by analyzing data from a variety of sources. In addition, fusion centers are a conduit for implementing portions of the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan (hereafter, NCISP or Plan).
The Fusion Center Guidelines support the use of a variety of databases, drivers’ licenses, motor vehicle registrations, criminal justice and corrections sources, and “public and private sources,”. What private and public sources?
Charles Allen, chief intelligence officer for DHS, at a Sept. 7 House hearing stated that iInformation-sharing and data mining remain key activities at a growing number of state and local intelligence fusion centers and by Oct 2007 the DHS intends to deploy federal intellignece officers to 18 state fusion centers to facilitate the collaboration. Forty-two states have either set up such centers or plan to do so.
Big Brother is listing and reading – are you?