Who watches the watchmen?

I don't know whether to file this as funny or sad....

Two Oakland police officers working undercover at an anti-war protest in May 2003 got themselves elected to leadership positions in an effort to influence the demonstration, documents released Thursday show.
The department assigned the officers to join activists protesting the U.S. war in Iraq and the tactics that police had used at a demonstration a month earlier, a police official said last year in a sworn deposition.

Funny, because its reminiscent of how the East German opposition organisations would be so riddled with government spies that often there were more of the agents than legitimate members.

Sad, because its a dark day for democracy and freedom when the government feels it has to infiltrate protest groups. Its one thing to keep an eye on the protests, its another to infiltrate the group with spies.

... and its something altogether when the spies get themselves placed in positions of power in the group.... positions where they can manipulate the group to their own ends, either emasculating protest, or enciting illegal acts. Thats something that happens in "other countries". It shouldn't be happening in the bastions of democracy and freedom.