The Department of Homeland Security, led by Christa Noem, announced on Thursday the termination of the “Quiet Skies” surveillance initiative. While this marks a positive initial step, it’s merely that: the beginning. The entire surveillance apparatus, which emerged from the post-9/11 panic, must be dismantled.
The “Silent Skies Program” was introduced as a release in 2010, intended to identify potential threats among domestic air travelers who might not appear on terrorism watch lists but exhibit suspicious behavior. Unfortunately, it has turned into just another means of surveilling American citizens.
As Noem noted in a press release on Thursday, the program “did not prevent a single terrorist attack while costing $200 million annually.”
Even more troubling, the program is reportedly being used against political opponents, including National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard. According to whistleblower allegations shared by watchdog groups, Gabbard, a vocal critic of U.S. intelligence agencies, has been targeted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Marshall Service (FAMS). The complaint, as outlined by Tristan Justice, claims that Gabbard was placed under federal scrutiny by the FAMS Silent Skies initiative “the day after her criticisms during an interview with Laura Ingraham.”
“An Air Marshall was assigned to be on my flight with Gabbard on July 25, 2024,” reported Empower Monitor. “Without clear evidence that Gabbard presents a legitimate threat, this represents a significant waste of taxpayer funds and an abuse of TSA authority.”
Noem is also advocating for an investigation into the program.
“It is evident that the Quiet Skies initiative has been utilized as a political tool for the Biden administration. It has been weaponized against political adversaries and misused to favor allies,” Noem stated. “I am urging Congress to uncover further corruption that comes at the expense of the American public and undermines national security.”
However, while addressing this issue, Congress and the Trump administration must take a broader view of the overarching surveillance landscape.
As Federalist co-founder and CEO Sean Davis articulated, “The government’s reaction to 9/11 has fostered a culture of constitutional disdain and a modern warrantless surveillance state.”
Next up is the PRISM program, which was exposed by Edward Snowden. The PRISM initiative is “a constitutionally questionable surveillance program through which the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Central Intelligence Agency collect and search data, including internet communications, calls, photos, and chats from Americans, often utilizing backdoors into major tech firms.”
In 2015, Congress passed the U.S. Freedom Act, amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to prohibit the gathering of American data; however, the CIA has continued to spy on U.S. citizens. Specifically, the FBI later misused FISA to surveil President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Additionally, revelations emerged that the NSA was conducting widespread surveillance under Executive Order 12333. The Government Surveillance Project (Pogo) states that this order enables the government to “sift through billions of emails, texts, and calls from individuals worldwide, inadvertently capturing the private communications of Americans.”
“The core issue with EO 12333 is that it essentially operates without any oversight from the legislature or the judiciary, functioning as an outlaw’s authority,” explains Pogo.
The Quiet Skies program is not an exception; it’s indicative of a broader trend. National security states have, by design, expanded their reach, increasingly turning their surveillance tools on American citizens. Simply closing a failed program is insufficient. Republicans must pursue a more comprehensive dismantling of the entire surveillance state.
Brianna Lyman is a federalist election correspondent. A graduate of Fordham University, she holds a degree in International Politics and Economics. Her work has appeared in Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business, and RealClearPolitics. X: Follow Brianna on @Briannalyman2
Source: thefederalist.com