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George Main: Shadowed by the Pentagon

George Main, president of the Sacramento Chapter of Veterans for Peace, served in the military as a Russian linguist in the 1970s. He saw how government surveillance could stray outside legal bounds. In 2004, his name showed up on a federal surveillance database in connection with a protest at a military recruitment center. Now he feels the Bush administration is violating every right and privilege he fought for during his military service.

My Story

Listening to Phone Calls. I had been trained as a Russian linguist ... (0:33)
The Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). I called for a protest ... (1:10)
Unpatriotic. My wife had started listening to the threats ... (1:14)

Themes

Anti-war. Protesting against any of the foreign policies of a U.S. administration, especially a President's decision to go to war, has often been viewed as a threat by that administration. The experiences of Will Bergfeld, Gren Whitman, Peggy Hutchison, Bridget Colvin, George Main and Eric Shaw connect and contrast this situation across time.