Homeland Security opening private mail

MSNBC is reporting that a retired professor in the US is shocked that a recent letter from a regular correspondent in the Phillipines was opened and examined by the Department of Homeland Security. The letter arrived with a piece of green tape on it, indicating that the letter was opened "by Border Protection." I don't think this is a new phenomenon, but is being reported on in the wake of the warrantless wiretap scandal in the US.

One thing I find interesting from the story is that the retired professor used to do the same sort of "mail inspection" during the war:

Goodman is no stranger to mail snooping; as an officer during World War II he was responsible for reading all outgoing mail of the men in his command and censoring any passages that might provide clues as to his unit’s position. “But we didn’t do it as clumsily as they’ve done it, I can tell you that,” Goodman noted, with no small amount of irony in his voice. “Isn’t it funny that this doesn’t appear to be any kind of surreptitious effort here,” he said.

Would he prefer that this be hidden?

Read the MSNBC article here: Homeland Security opening private mail - U.S. Security - MSNBC.com.

Privacy :: Homeland Security :: Mail :: National Security