TALON (Threat and Local Observation Notice) was a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases spa ...

maintained by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

after the

September 11th terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

. It was authorized for creation in 2002 by Deputy Defense Secretary

Paul D. Wolfowitz Paul Dundes Wolfowitz (born December 22, 1943) is an American political scientist and diplomat who served as the 10th President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and former dean of Johns Hopkins SA ...

, in order to collect and evaluate information about possible threats to US servicemembers and civilian workers in the US and at overseas military installations.Defense Department to Close TALON System
by Sergeant Sara Wood, US Army, American Forces Press Service, 8/21/07. The database included lists of

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

groups and people who have attended anti-war rallies. TALON reports are collected by various

US Defense Department The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

agencies including law enforcement, intelligence, counterintelligence and security, and were analyzed by a Pentagon agency, the

Counterintelligence Field Activity Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) was a United States Department of Defense (DoD) agency whose size and budget were classified. The CIFA was created by a directive (Number 5105.67) from the Secretary of Defense, then Donald Rumsfeld, on Feb ...

. CIFA had existed since 2004, and its size and budget are secret. On August 21, 2007, the US Defense Department announced that it would shut down the database, as the database had been criticized for gathering information on peace activists and other political activists who posed no credible threat, but who had been one topic of this database due to their political views.Criticized database to be shuttered
by Jim Mannion, Agence France Presse, 8/21/07. The department is working on a new system which would replace TALON, but for the time being, information on force protection threats will be handled by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

’s

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

reporting system.

References

External links

U.S. Department of Defense official website
{{USAF-stub National Security Agency Government databases in the United States Espionage Privacy of telecommunications National security institutions Surveillance scandals

See also

References

External links