S and their Al-Quida pals in CAIR/ACLU costume thought otherwise.
Posted on 02/05/2006 3:04:54 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2006 – The president's terrorist surveillance program serves the purpose of gathering intelligence against terrorists wishing to attack the United States, the nation's No. 2 intelligence officer said in appearances on Sunday morning talk shows. "This is focused on al Qaeda," said Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, principal deputy director of national intelligence and former director of the National Security Agency, during a "Fox News Sunday" interview. "The only justification we have to undertake this program is to detect and prevent attacks against the United States."
Through the president's authorization of the program, the NSA can monitor incoming and outgoing international phone calls when there is reasonable belief that either caller has an al Qaeda connection. Opponents have argued that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows for the same thing when probable cause exists.
But FISA requires paperwork between the NSA and the attorney general, thereby slowing the process considerably, Hayden said. He pointed out that the attorney general has said the FISA process does not allow for the speed and agility to do what the surveillance program is designed to do.
"Speed is very important," Hayden said. "This (gives us agility to get up on communications, in many cases in a matter of hours rather than days, weeks or even months. That's what the key to this program is, again -- detect and prevent."
The legal aspects of the program are being debated, though, he acknowledged. Some would like to see it authorized with more legislation, but that could negate the program's usefulness, Hayden said on the ABC program "This Week."
"Whatever it is we do in the future has to be done in a way that doesn't reveal our tactics, techniques and procedures to the enemy," he told host George Stephanopoulos, explaining that further legislation of the program may do just that.
For those who are wary about calling overseas for fear of being monitored, Hayden said, that's not likely to happen. The NSA isn't monitoring all communications and sifting through them, he said. Al Qaeda is the program's focus.
"We really don't have the time or the resources - linguists - to linger to, go after (communications) that aren't going to protect the homeland," he said. "If you're not relevant, if the intercept isn't relevant ... we don't need it. We go on to those things that actually help us accomplish the mission."
And whether or not conversations conducted inside the United States would be helpful to conducting that mission, they're off limits, he said.
"Even after the president's authorization, if Osama bin Laden ... crossed the bridge (and) ... he's in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and he calls Pittsburgh, I still can't cover him," Hayden said.
The general said the intelligence community not only is monitoring possible al Qaeda communications to and from the United States, but also is studying the tapes the group has recently released. Hayden said there's the sense the group may be releasing the tapes as a "proof of life."
"The al Qaeda leadership may be on their back foot and the rest of the organization may see that," he said. "These tapes may be an attempt on their part to kind of reestablish authenticity with their followers."
On "Fox News Sunday," host Chris Wallace turned the topic to Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency's reporting of the country to the United Nations Security Council.
Hayden said the overall estimate of the intelligence community is that Iran is very determined to acquire a nuclear weapon.
"I think that the estimate would say that there may be the potential there to dissuade them (with economic sanctions), but right now they appear to be very, very determined," he said.
later read
Welcome to the list hdstmf who was USAFSS in the early 60's to 70's. He's now living in Las Vegas.
I believe the good general was wrong about he couldn't wiretap on OBL calling from somewhere in the US to somewhere else in the US. He would still rep. enemies of the US and a foreign state or entity.
What about the pickup and taping of the conversatiion between Gingrich, Boehner and someone else that got into McDermott's hands? Where was the MSM horror of that?
DISGUSTING!
VAUDINE
Now the RINO's need to follow President Bush's lead
and go on the offense and nail the Dims PING
Time to bring back the white flag ad that the RINO
"big wigs" thought "offended" the Dims.
Time for the real conservatives on FR, be it Republicans, Independents or Democrats
(like Zell Miller and John O'Neill) to band together.
The "Politically Correct RINO's" on FR are the same group
who "swore"
klintoon, hitlery, hanoi kerry, sanbdi ber(bur)glar, al bore, jane beno,
would be prosecuted for
pardongate, chinagate, the bribes in upstate NY in the 2000 NY Senate race, waco, etc, etc,
"when" the "time was right".
Any sane person knew what the surveilance was about, Only the insane democrats and their Al Quaeda partners had a problem with it.
Thanks for the ping, Tonk.
BTTT!
S and their Al-Quida pals in CAIR/ACLU costume thought otherwise.
Is it really true that FISA paperwork is so onerous that it can't reasonably be expected to be completed in 72 hours? If so, where was the administration's initiative to amend the law?
And what's with "The president's terrorist surveillance program?" I thought it was the government's program; what's next, giant pictures of GWB lining Pennsylvania Avenue?
You were an AF Officer; how long in and what was your rank when you got out?
"Is it really true that FISA paperwork is so onerous that it can't reasonably be expected to be completed in 72 hours?"
===
And where do you think a terrorist will be in 72 hrs? Possibly in a plane aimed at the Capitol.
The 911 Commission itself said that FISA is too slow.
9/11 Commission: FISA Court Too Slow
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/1/30/90457.shtml?s=icp
As noted on yesterday's "Meet the Press" by National Review Online reporter Byron York, 9/11 Commission Report clearly states:
"The FISA application process continues to be long and slow. Requests for approvals are overwhelming the ability of the system to process them and to conduct a surveillance.”
In a passage not noted by Mr. York, the Commission blasts the FISA process even more harshly, complaining:
"The 'wall' between criminal and intelligence investigations apparently caused agents to be less aggressive than they might otherwise have been in pursuing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance powers in counterterrorism investigations.
"Moreover, the FISA approval process involved multiple levels of review, which also discouraged agents from using such surveillance. Many agents also told us that the process for getting FISA packages approved at FBI Headquarters and the Department of Justice was incredibly lengthy and inefficient.
"Several FBI agents added that, prior to 9/11, FISA-derived intelligence information was not fully exploited but was collected primarily to justify continuing the surveillance."
Since the media generally regards the 9/11 Commission as the ultimate authority on such matters, we trust reporters will now stop insisting that the FISA process was wholly adequate to keep America safe from terrorists.
Thank you
Fourteen years, RIFed, O-3.
What'd you do?
Electronic Warfare Officer on a BUF crew, mostly. K1575Z, to be exact.
Unless I totally misunderstand, they can listen in immediately; the 72 hours is how long they have to ram the retroactive paperwork through.
You totally misunderstand. The 72 hours is a useless and unused option, because it takes weeks or months to properly prepare a FISA warrant. Before the FISA court ever sees a request for a warrant, it has to pass internal muster, a process designed to weed out anything that wouldn't be a slam dunk approval. The FISA court is not a rubber stamp; it's a tough standard, and the judges are very strict. There's no way to 'ram' anything through them, emergency or not.
Here's another reason why we need to be vigilant:
and they ain't protesting 9/11, either....
This is an idiotic rule, if it's true. If Osama is in the US calling someone else in the US, then I want him monitored by every swinging intercept artist in our arsenal.
It is STILL the security of the US, and the president is still the Commander in Chief required by the Constitution to protect the US even at a moment's notice.
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