Thank you for a very informative post. I have long suspected that tactics like these were used, but I am finally coming to realize that these are now effectively standard operating procedures. It is becoming abundantly clear that all these surveillance techniques out there are eroding our freedoms. We are badly in need of a major overhaul of the Constitution and our legal system.
This is one reason why I am increasingly leery of the US committing its troops overseas anymore - the 'War on Terror' and the like are the prime excuses used to erode civil liberties. Unfortunately any such effort would require a level of awareness among the ordinary citizenry that is utterly lacking. I truly fear that our democracy will wither away unless people take a much greater interest in the larger issues.
Thanks again. I certainly appreciate someone taking the time to dig through this warren. Keep it up.