Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:29PM


The US government is assembling a new domestic security measure that gathers information about every citizen and resident in America.


The system collects, stores and analyzes information with the help of every state and law enforcement agency about thousands of US citizens and then feeds the information to the FBI, The Washington Post reported.

The FBI is building a database with the names and personal information of thousands of Americans whom a local police officer or a fellow citizen believes to be acting suspiciously.

US intelligence officials claim due to nearly two dozens of alleged acts of terrorism this year, the need to identify US-born or naturalized citizens who are planning violent attacks has been more urgent than ever.

"The old view that 'if we fight the terrorists abroad, we won't have to fight them here' is just that - the old view," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told police recently.

Moreover, former agents are helping local authorities turn thousands of garbage collectors into a spy force that reports to the police.

Reports say 100 Waste Management employees have already gone through a training program called Waste Watch, CBS 6 Albany/WRGB reported on Friday.

Britain and Israel are also well acquainted with such domestic security measures, according to The Washington Post.

At least 935 organizations -- each with its own counterterrorism responsibilities and jurisdictions -- have been created or become involved in counterterrorism acts since September 2001 attacks.