Fergie's Tech Blog

Pentagon Intel Chief Seeks End to TALON Database

A Reuters newswire article, via ABC News, reports that:

The Pentagon's new intelligence chief has asked U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to terminate the controversial military database known as TALON that tracks suspicious activity around U.S. bases, according to a memo obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

James Clapper, U.S. undersecretary of defense for intelligence, said in an April 18 memo the program should end due in part to its image in Congress and the media.

"I have assessed results of the TALON program during the last year and I do not believe they merit continuing the program as currently constituted particularly in light of its image in the Congress and the media," Clapper said in a memo to Gates.

TALON is a database of raw reports of possible threats to U.S. military bases. It contains thousands of records of suspicious activities around bases that could involve terrorist threats, including information about some U.S. citizens.

posted by Fergie @ 4/24/2007 01:17:00 PM