Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 11. Oktober 2003 / Time Line October 11, 2003
Version 3.510. Oktober 2003, 12. Oktober 2003
10/11/2003
US Homeland Security - Group Alleges Police Scrutiny
Peace Fresno Says Late Detective in Anti-Terror Unit was at
Meetings.
He was the quiet guy. The one who came to Peace Fresno meetings,
always sitting in the same spot, taking notes but never taking part
in the discussions. For two months, ending in May, he sat through
planning meetings, passed out anti-war fliers and went to rallies.
He said his name was Aaron Stokes. When asked about his job, he
said he was independently wealthy.
Members of Peace Fresno now say he was Aaron Kilner, an undercover
sheriff's detective who died in an off-duty motorcycle accident
August 30.
Fresno County Sheriff Richard Pierce would not say whether Kilner
attended meetings, but he said Peace Fresno "was not and is not the
subject of any investigation by the Fresno County Sheriff's
Department."
Pierce said his department "does not have any reports, files,
rosters or notes on Peace Fresno or its meetings."
However, in a four-paragraph statement issued Thursday, he defended
his department's legal right to send undercover officers to
community meetings.
"For the purpose of detecting or preventing terrorist activities,
the Fresno County Sheriff's Department may visit any place and
attend any event that is open to the public, on the same terms and
conditions as members of the public generally."
In a time when issues over security versus personal liberties are
at the forefront of a national debate, members of Peace Fresno say
an undercover officer at a political meeting brings the controversy
close to home, writes Diana Marcum, The Fresno Bee.
10/11/2003
Many soldiers, same letter : Newspapers around U.S. get
identical missives from Iraq
LEDYARD KING GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Letters from hometown soldiers describing their
successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across
the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours. And all
the letters are the same.
A Gannett News Service search found identical letters from
different soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne
Infantry Regiment, also known as "The Rock," in 11 newspapers,
including Snohomish, Wash. The Olympian received two identical
letters signed by different hometown soldiers.
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