Congress to continue funding fusion centers

The Bush administration created more than 40 fusion centers following the September 11 attacks. These offices are created to expedite the sharing of information between different local, state and national security agencies. The centers also collect data from the private sector. The sharing of information between the military, the government and the private sector has brought fusion centers under scrutiny – and reports that they’ve targeted anti-war war activists and third-party supporters have caused critics to cite fusion centers as a potential threat to a citizen’s right to privacy and free speech. FSRN’s Sam Greenspan is in Washington, where a Congressional panel today weighed the promise and danger of these fusion centers, and indicated they will continue funding them.