Posted on 12/17/2005 7:51:38 AM PST by MNJohnnie
President responded quickly to this and rightfully so.
I responded with a great rant to another post in breaking news but it's gone, poof.
I'll summarize....I'm MAD.
Is that the PC term for the Civil War? You'd think with the dems being in the north and northern states that it would be something like the war of southern aggression, geeze.
LOL, any topic will bring out the "stuck in the antebellum" types like you...
By all means, let's respect the privacy and give them special rights as terrorists. The media is on the side of terrorists. What other wasy can the media aid the terrorists?
I've seen Russ Feingold this morning on two cable networks already. This is part of the damn WOT, this propaganda nonsense. IF the Prez wants to fight the war properly, he has to deal with the traitors getting money from who knows who and use the bully pulpit to strike it down.
Which he is. The Dems are fighting back.
Awesome! It's time to take the gloves off! He's got to treat the Dems and the MSM the same way as Al Queda! He's been too nice to them for too long. He should start by expanding Mr. Fitzgerald's duties to include who's been leaking this info?
Tomorrow night. It'll be on FNC.
Remember on 9/11 somebody had the Presidential security codes that only the Secret Service were supposed to have.
The word "admit" implies that this is something that nefarious and illegal.
The proper word, given that the program was legal, is "acknowledge."
The proper title would be, given that the president says the program is legal:
"The president ACKNOWLEDGES Approving LEGAL Eavesdropping Dozens of Times."
Maybe Murtha and Drunk ole' Teddy as well. Possibly Dick Durbin...I would be interested in finding out what would be the things overheard on Dick's line.
To follow up, it was the Gorelick wall in addition in that instance. The Patriot rules not being renewed means we are re-installing the same Wall. Bush should sign an executive order and renew it, standing in front of all Rumsfield and all the generals, explaining how the democrat gorelick wall created 9/11, and say he is not allowing the democrats to sacrifice our national security, or possibly our very existence by re-installing it.
I never heard about this. What was done with the codes exactly?
Does anyone have a link to text/audio of the speech?
I just caught CNN informing terr perps around the world exactly how the NSA electronically spies on them.
The liberals, most democrats & the LMSM are traitors, nothing more, nothing less. It is time for some drum head trials and to start putting certain people against the wall.
That's true
Wait a minute here... this sounds like the President is approving ~each one~ on a case by case basis?
Works for me. How can somebody have a problem with that? Presidential authorization is a little bit of a higher standard than a mere judges' authorization.
I guess Sunday night would be a good time to go on TV. The Sunday morning shows would have come and gone, allowing Dubya to have the last word on Sunday night.
You are in error. There is a faction on FR that thinks the handful of self important Whine All The Timers might spend at least 1/10th of their time actually making CONSTUCTIVE USE of their time instead of wasting it ALL posting and reposting the same old tired whines fopr "Bush to do something" several hundred times each and every day.
Really really interesting to note. A Democrat Fillibuster in the Senate torpedo's the Patriot Act and yet all the "Constructive suggestions" posted are whines for Bush to "Do something". Funny how the "Suggestions" never actually involve hold the people who actually CASTED THE VOTES in the Congress accountable. No instead each and EVERY one of hundreds of "suggestions" is a merely another whine for Bush to "Do something". It is not the "suggestions on how to make things better" Freepers object to; it is the confusion on the part of a certain handful of FReeper who stubbornly refuse to discover that constant whining about EVERYTHING is NOT the same thing as "Constructive suggestions"
RADIO ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION
The Roosevelt Room
10:06 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.
As President, I took an oath to defend the Constitution, and I have no greater responsibility than to protect our people, our freedom, and our way of life. On September the 11th, 2001, our freedom and way of life came under attack by brutal enemies who killed nearly 3,000 innocent Americans. We're fighting these enemies across the world. Yet in this first war of the 21st century, one of the most critical battlefronts is the home front. And since September the 11th, we've been on the offensive against the terrorists plotting within our borders.
One of the first actions we took to protect America after our nation was attacked was to ask Congress to pass the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act tore down the legal and bureaucratic wall that kept law enforcement and intelligence authorities from sharing vital information about terrorist threats. And the Patriot Act allowed federal investigators to pursue terrorists with tools they already used against other criminals. Congress passed this law with a large, bipartisan majority, including a vote of 98-1 in the United States Senate.
Since then, America's law enforcement personnel have used this critical law to prosecute terrorist operatives and supporters, and to break up terrorist cells in New York, Oregon, Virginia, California, Texas and Ohio. The Patriot Act has accomplished exactly what it was designed to do: it has protected American liberty and saved American lives.
Yet key provisions of this law are set to expire in two weeks. The terrorist treat to our country will not expire in two weeks. The terrorists want to attack America again, and inflict even greater damage than they did on September the 11th. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that law enforcement and intelligence officials have the tools they need to protect the American people.
The House of Representatives passed reauthorization of the Patriot Act. Yet a minority of senators filibustered to block the renewal of the Patriot Act when it came up for a vote yesterday. That decision is irresponsible, and it endangers the lives of our citizens. The senators who are filibustering must stop their delaying tactics, and the Senate must vote to reauthorize the Patriot Act. In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment.
To fight the war on terror, I am using authority vested in me by Congress, including the Joint Authorization for Use of Military Force, which passed overwhelmingly in the first week after September the 11th. I'm also using constitutional authority vested in me as Commander-in-Chief.
In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations. Before we intercept these communications, the government must have information that establishes a clear link to these terrorist networks.
This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies. Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.
As the 9/11 Commission pointed out, it was clear that terrorists inside the United States were communicating with terrorists abroad before the September the 11th attacks, and the commission criticized our nation's inability to uncover links between terrorists here at home and terrorists abroad. Two of the terrorist hijackers who flew a jet into the Pentagon, Nawaf al Hamzi and Khalid al Mihdhar, communicated while they were in the United States to other members of al Qaeda who were overseas. But we didn't know they were here, until it was too late.
The authorization I gave the National Security Agency after September the 11th helped address that problem in a way that is fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities. The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9/11 hijackers will be identified and located in time. And the activities conducted under this authorization have helped detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad.
The activities I authorized are reviewed approximately every 45 days. Each review is based on a fresh intelligence assessment of terrorist threats to the continuity of our government and the threat of catastrophic damage to our homeland. During each assessment, previous activities under the authorization are reviewed. The review includes approval by our nation's top legal officials, including the Attorney General and the Counsel to the President. I have reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September the 11th attacks, and I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al Qaeda and related groups.
The NSA's activities under this authorization are thoroughly reviewed by the Justice Department and NSA's top legal officials, including NSA's general counsel and inspector general. Leaders in Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this authorization and the activities conducted under it. Intelligence officials involved in this activity also receive extensive training to ensure they perform their duties consistent with the letter and intent of the authorization.
This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power under our laws and Constitution to protect them and their civil liberties. And that is exactly what I will continue to do, so long as I'm the President of the United States.
Thank you.
END 10:13 A.M. EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051217.html
First and foremost in these days leading up to Christmas, God bless our President Bush.
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