DRIP....DRIP....DRIP.... slowly freedom drizzles away

Military Is Expanding Its Intelligence Role in U.S.

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and MARK MAZZETTI
Published: January 14, 2007
The New York Times

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 — The Pentagon has been using a little-known power to obtain banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage inside the United States, part of an aggressive expansion by the military into domestic intelligence gathering.

The C.I.A. has also been issuing what are known as national security letters to gain access to financial records from American companies, though it has done so only rarely, intelligence officials say.

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ARTICLE NYT