On Sunday, the News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) called on the U.S. Army to "be forthcoming — and soon" about John Towery, the Fort Lewis spy who was outed by Port Militarization Resistance activists two weeks ago.[1] -- "Until [the Army] starts talking, the public will be left to assume the worst: that the military is spying on civilians," the paper said. -- COMMENT: In fact, the public already knows this. -- Although the News Tribune said that "all that is known so far comes from antiwar activists" and that perhaps Towery "was a rogue agent" or "a disaffected Army employee who really does have anarchist leanings," Fort Lewis effectively admitted two weeks ago that Towery was a spy. -- As Democracy Now! reported when it broke the story, "the base’s Public Affairs office publicly acknowledged . . . that Towery is a military operative. The statement says, quote, 'John Towery performs sensitive work within the installation law enforcement community, and it would not be appropriate for him to discuss his duties with the media.' Fort Lewis also says it’s launched an internal inquiry." -- Moreover, as Democracy Now! reported on Jul. 28, "government documents also show that intelligence officers from other government and military agencies inquired [of] Olympia police about the Washington state peace activists. In an email to an Olympia police officer from February 2008, Thomas Glapion, Chief Investigations/Intel of New Jersey’s McGuire Air Force, writes, quote, 'Good Morning, first let me thank you for the effort. To the contrary you were quite the help to me. You are now part of my Intel network. I’m still looking at possible protests by the PMR SDS MDS and other left wing anti war groups so any Intel you have would be appreciated . . . In return if you need anything from the Armed Forces I will try to help you as well.'” -- Towery was obviously not a "rogue agent." -- One more significant omission: the News Tribune did not mention the issue of fusion centers (whose existence the paper has never acknowledged, unless we are mistaken), though it did allude to them by speaking of "about the intelligence-sharing networks created in the wake of 9/11" and the "concerns that civil libertarians have voiced for years." -- Still, the editorial is surprising and remarkable in the sense that any criticism of the military is rare in the News Tribune, which publishes Fort Lewis's official newspaper and usually confines itself to the role of cheerleader....
1.
Opinion
[Editorial]
FORT LEWIS OWES PUBLIC ANSWERS
News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
August 9, 2009
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/838418.html
John J. Towery has become an international mystery. The Army must not let him remain one.
Questions about Towery have swirled since late last month when an antiwar group announced to the Olympia City Council that the Fort Lewis civilian employee had spied on its members.
Since then, the story has spread from the *New York Times* to the *Irish Times*.
Olympia Port Militarization Resistance alleges that Towery, identifying himself as “John Jacob,” infiltrated the group in 2007. Only recently did its members inadvertently discover his true identity after their curiosity was piqued by City of Olympia public records.
Group members say Towery was privy to the inside workings of the group, which tries to block shipments of Stryker vehicles and other supplies at the ports of Olympia and Tacoma.
He allegedly was administrator of the group e-mail list, provided (sometimes inaccurate) information about military movements, attended protests, and spent time at a Tacoma meeting place for anarchists.
We say “allegedly” because all that is known so far comes from antiwar activists. Towery isn’t talking and neither is the Army, except to say that it’s looking into the matter.
Here are three possible scenarios:
• Towery, a criminal intelligence analyst for the post’s Force Protection Division, was acting on the orders of his superiors.
• Towery was a rogue agent. (He reportedly told one PMR member that the base was investigating him for espionage.)
• Towery is a disaffected Army employee who really does have anarchist leanings.
In any event, the Army owes the public an explanation. Laws and rules dating back to the post-Civil War era put restrictions on the Army conducting law enforcement or surveillance on civilians. This country was founded on the principle of civilian supremacy, and Americans have long guarded against the use of standing armies to quell political criticism of government.
Eugene R. Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale Law School and heads the National Institute of Military Justice, told the Associated Press: “Domestic surveillance by the military is one of the third rails of our culture. It’s one of the things that separates the democratic society from other kinds of societies.”
If Towery is found to have been feeding information to local police agencies, his actions could validate the concerns that civil libertarians have voiced for years about the intelligence-sharing networks created in the wake of 9/11. The Army will have to explain how it justified his actions as legal.
If, on the contrary, Towery acted alone, then the Army must send a strong message that it won’t tolerate personnel going off the reservation.
Either way, the Army must be forthcoming -- and soon. Until it starts talking, the public will be left to assume the worst: that the military is spying on civilians.
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