We don't consider the Taliban a terrorist group but the "School of Americas" represents a clear and present danger.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Georgia today released new evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is using counterterrorism resources to spy on peaceful faith- and conscience-based advocacy groups. School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) and its multinational faith-based network is the latest organization uncovered by the ACLU to have been subject to Federal Bureau of Investigation counterterrorism surveillance.
"We gather yearly to remember those killed by graduates of this school, and to call for a change in U.S. policy towards Latin America," said Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of SOA Watch. "Our intentions are peaceful and our commitment unwavering as we nonviolently call attention to a school that has trained some of the worst human rights abusers in this hemisphere."

Founded by Bourgeois in 1990, SOA Watch conducts research on the U.S. Army School of the Americas, now renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and located at Fort Benning, Georgia. Each year the school trains hundreds of soldiers from Latin America, funded entirely by U.S. taxpayers. SOA Watch sponsors an annual vigil to call for the closure of the facility. Last year 19,000 people from around the country poured into Georgia to take part.

The documents released today show that FBI surveillance of these peaceful protests and acts of civil disobedience outside Fort Benning, once classified as "Routine" after 200,1 became "Priority" and subject to "Counterterrorism" monitoring. One memo dated October 2003 explicitly states that "The leaders of the SOA Watch have taken strides to impart upon the protest participants that the protest should be a peaceful event."

"Clearly the FBI knew it was spying on a peaceful demonstration, activity protected by the First Amendment," said Gerry Weber, ACLU of Georgia Legal Director. "That vital protection extends even to those who express controversial views."

The next time you see Bush on television telling you that we are only wiretapping or tracking terrorist sympathizers, just yell "Bullshit" at the top of your lungs. That ought to be a lot of fun in your local tavern.

(If you are confused by my Taliban reference then you need to scroll down four posts. Aahh now you get it!)