(H/T Bruce Schneier)

Yet another disturbing story about DHS, the punch line being:

Homeland Security, the $40-billion-a-year agency set up to combat terrorism after 9/11, has been given universal jurisdiction and can hold anyone on Earth for crimes unrelated to national security — even me for a court date I missed while I was in Iraq helping America deter terror — without asking what I had been doing in Pakistan among Islamic extremists the agency is designated to stop. Instead, some of its actions are erasing the lines of jurisdiction between local police and the federal state, scarily bringing the words “police” and “state” closer together. As long as we allow Homeland Security to act like a Keystone Stasi, terrorism will continue to win in destroying our freedom.

For full effect read the whole thing here.

While I am as aghast as anyone about the bizzaro-world that this particular DHS office happens to reside in (how can you not reach the NYPD from JFK airport?), Mr. LeMoine gets a little carried away.

DHS isn’t exercising jurisdiction over everyone. The author has an outstanding warrant and as anyone would expect, news of that warrant was sent to other agencies in the off chance that they might pick him up for a speeding ticket, etc. You’ve seen a cop show on TV right? You know how this works. It is nothing new.

You can’t have it both ways; either our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are sharing information so as to catch more bad guys (technically Mr. LeMoine is a small-b bad guy), or they remain independent closed shops that leave a thousand cracks through which bad guys can slip. You don’t want to subject yourself to “undue” scrutiny by The Man? Then pay a little more attention to your legal obligations. I’m glad the author volunteered to do the work he did, but the ruling on one’s righteousness that is handed down in the court of public opinion has little standing in an actual court.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.