Clinton Spied Myth Debunked Totaly

[DeBunk]

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/20/the-echelon-myth> The Echelon Myth

The Clinton administration program, code-named Echelon, complied with FISA. Before any conversations of U.S. persons were targeted, a FISA warrant was obtained. CIA director George Tenet testified to this before Congress on 4/12/00:

I’m here today to discuss specific issues about and allegations regarding Signals Intelligence activities and the so-called Echelon Program of the National Security Agency…

There is a rigorous regime of checks and balances which we, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the FBI scrupulously adhere to whenever conversations of U.S. persons are involved, whether directly or indirectly. We do not collect against U.S. persons unless they are agents of a foreign power as that term is defined in the law. We do not target their conversations for collection in the United States unless a FISA warrant has been obtained from the FISA court by the Justice Department.

[cry baby]

1. Here is my take on the "Clinton did it, too" mumbo jumbo -

aside from what you wrote, if Clinton did spy on people without warrants, it would have been secret. No one would know - especially right wing hacks. Same with Reagan and Bush 41. It's a secret thing...the wingers are saying every pres did it...they just cannot know that for a fact cause of the secrecy.

[SmokingJacket]

2. Skipping the warrant would not make the process more

effective. It only hides it.

IMHO: the only reason Bush skipped the warrant was because he was spying on people illegally -- citizens without any connection to foreign powers. Like... oh, democrats.