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Able Danger was using special data mining techniques to sift through the astronomical amounts of raw data intercepted by Echelon on a daily basis. Based on Internet descriptions of how Echelon works and how its information is processed, the Able Danger team was just applying much more sophisticated filtering algorithms to the data stream. Just.

The crux of the Able Danger controversy is the use and later destruction of the data. Before revision of the laws post 9-11, there was a legal wall prohibitting the use of foreign intelligence information by domestic law enforcement agencies. This is what the Justice Department and DoD lawyers were enforcing when they prohibited the meetings between Able Danger team and the FBI. (Thereby preventing the early alerting of the agency to the danger and possibly preventing the attacks.)

Someone has famously remarked that "Democracy is not a suicide pact." Apparently not for civil rights fanatics like Gorelick and company.

Mercifully, the barrier between the cross sharing of information is now down.

(In your comment about Echelon, where you perhaps thinking of Carnivore, the FBI's Internet "wiretap" technology which is only a few years old? Some form or other of Echelon has been in operation under NSA direction since what...the 1950s? BTW, The only knowledge I have about Echelon (or Carnivore) is public.)