Pentagon: We Spied, But Now We'll Delete It

"We held onto things that should have been expunged because they weren't a threat," the official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.

The Pentagon has built a massive security database to help protect U.S. military bases and troops that includes unwarranted information on Iraq war opponents and peace activists in the United States, a defense official said on Wednesday.

The official said the database included police reports and law enforcement tips in a legitimate domestic security effort, but that it had mistakenly swept up and kept information on people who were not threats to launch terror attacks.