Clinton Used NSA for Economic Espionage: Newshax

[lateo]

Sorry, this has probably been done already but I have been away from DU for a while. What is the story here?

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/12/19/114807.shtml

[Avalux]

1. If it's from Newsmax, there's no story.

It's a RW rag and not worth the time to read. :hi:

[lateo]

2. There is always a story behind...

this sort of rubbish.

[w13rd0]

4. Story being that they are trying to blunt...

...criticism of Bush by their loyal wingnut base by trying to use the "Clenis did it too" excuse for the umpteenth million time. And if Clinton do so, why didn't they impeach him over THAT rather than a stain on a dress?

[icymist]

11. Frankly, because the GOP didn't.

They went after the stain on the dress instead. Does that mean that we now need to ignore Bush and what he does? NO!

[fearnobush]

3. And if it were true, why then, Impeach him over a blow job?

We now nothing more then CARGO at a reduced fare. Goddam you to Hell Mr. Bush.<>

[ddeclue]

5. They are lying by omission...

Just like what the Washingon Times did last year to Kerry by ellipsising out major portions of a speech he gave to make it sound like he did the exact opposite of what he did.

Newsfakes (err I mean newsmax) is leaving out the parts of both Clinton's and Carter's orders where they specifically prohibit the NSA from spying on U.S. citizens.

It's classic slimeballing from a bunch of slimeballs.

Doug D.

[WestHoustonDem]

6. Can I just say this?

Fuck Newsmax

[Skip Intro]

7. But they tried to impeach him for a blow job instead. Its BS, and would be

irrelevant if true.

At this point, six years into bush the second, Bill Clinton is over. There is no more passing the buck. Even with the right. This is bush's ball game now, these are bush's crimes - no more excuses, no more pleas for blind trust.


They don't quite get it inside the bush circle yet.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

8. Every president since Truman has used intelligence agencies for....

...economic espionage. Every country in the world does this, if they can afford the cost of launching satellites and building the electronic systems necessary to do the job. At the very least, the poorer nations rely on human intelligence alone.

No news in this article...just another attempt to blame Clinton.

[Patsy Stone]

9. This is where it comes from

This is a transcript of 60 Minutes from February (?) 2000, about Echelon. It even has a few quotes from Wayne Madsen (remember him?). It seems that the NSA has been doing this snooping all along, but the European Parliament decided and alleged that the US was using it for corporate spying to win contracts. Whether it is a full transcript and unedited I can not say, I got it off a web site.

http://cryptome.org/echelon-60min.htm

"KROFT: Much of what's known about the Echelon program comes not from enemies of the United States, but from its friends. Last year, the European Parliament, which meets here in Strasbourg, France, issued a report listing many of the Echelon's spy stations around the world and detailing their surveillance capabilities. The report says Echelon is not just being used to track spies and terrorists. It claims the United States is using it for corporate and industrial espionage as well, gathering sensitive information on European corporations, then turning it over to American competitors so they can gain an economic advantage.

"KROFT: (Voiceover) The European Parliament report alleges that the NSA 'lifted all the faxes and phone calls' between the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and Saudi Arabian Airlines, and that the information helped two American companies, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, win a $ 6 billion contract. The report also alleges that the French company Thomson-CSF lost a $ 1.3 billion satellite deal to Raytheon the same way. Glen Ford is the member of the European Parliament who commissioned the report.

"Mr. GLEN FORD (European Parliament Member): It's not the--if you want, the Echelon system that's the problem. It's how it's being used. Now, you know, if we're catching the bad guys, we're completely in favor of that, whether it's you catching the bad guys, us or anybody else. We don't like the bad guys. What we're concerned about is that some of the good guys in my constituency don't have jobs because US corporations got an inside track on--on some global deal."

[Patsy Stone]

10. And here's Think Progress' rebuttal to that NewsMax article.

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/20/the-echelon-myth/

[lateo]

12. Thank you so much.

I knew there was more to the story.