President Acknowledges Approving Secretive Eavesdropping

[rodeodance]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/17/AR2005121700456_pf.html

President Acknowledges Approving Secretive Eavesdropping
Bush Also Urges Congress to Extend Patriot Act

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 18, 2005; A01

President Bush said yesterday that he secretly ordered the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans with suspected ties to terrorists because it was "critical to saving American lives" and "consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution."

Bush said the program has been reviewed regularly by the nation's top legal authorities and targets only those people with "a clear link to these terrorist networks." Noting the failures to detect hijackers already in the country before the strikes on New York and Washington, Bush said the NSA's domestic spying since then has helped thwart other attacks.

In his statement, delivered during a live and unusually long radio address, the president assailed the news media for disclosing the eavesdropping program, and rebuked Senate Democrats for blocking renewal of the USA Patriot Act, which gave the FBI greater surveillance power after Sept. 11, 2001, and which expires Dec. 31.

"The terrorist threat to our country will not expire in two weeks," said Bush, calling a filibuster by Democratic senators opposed to the Patriot Act "irresponsible."
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[ixion]

1. failures to detect hijackers already in the country?

uh, no, that's not correct. They were all 'detected', and were in fact on watch lists, at least Atta was.

So, just more lies and hogwash and fear mongering from the worst leadership in the history of our republic.

[fasttense]

2. What a cheap and sleazy excuse. How many political enemies have been

spied on by the bushites? We will probably never know and about 30 percent of the country will never care unless of course, they become targets.

[maddezmom]

3. duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1992635&mesg_id=1992635