Gen Hayden, NSA, National Press Club 1/23/06, Full Transcript (MUST READ!)

Federation of American Scientists ^ | 23 January 2006

[Stultis]

Hayden bluntly corrects mutiple instance of misreporting by the MSM, but here's the big news (albeit ignored by much of the MSM):

if NSA had intercepted al Qaeda Ops Chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Karachi talking to Mohamed Atta in Laurel, Maryland, in say, July of 2001 -- if NSA had done that, and the results had been made public, I'm convinced that the crawler on all the 7 by 24 news networks would not have been "NSA domestic spying."

Had this program been in effect prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the 9/11 al Qaeda operatives in the United States, and we would have identified them as such.

[penelopesire]

bookmark

[Stultis]

See Also (highlights transcript, links to C-SPAN video):

POWERLINE: Hayden Delivers Impassioned Defense of NSA ^

Posted by Howlin On News/Activism ^ 01/23/2006 5:16:26 PM CST · 49 replies · 866+ views powerlineblog.com ^ | January 23, 2006 Hayden Delivers Impassioned Defense of NSA Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency, delivered a brilliant and heartfelt speech on the NSA's international terrorist surveillance program at the National Press Club today. You can, and should, read it all here. What follows are just a few of the many highlights: In the days after 9/11, NSA was using its authorities and its judgment to appropriately respond to the most catastrophic attack on the homeland in the history of the nation. That shouldn't be a headline, but as near as I can tell, these actions on my...

[Gay State Conservative]

I saw the tail end of this on C-SPAN last night.as the General was leaving the room,some clown shouted out to him something like "isn't it true that the US Military is spying on civilians...?"

My guess is that he was a "journalist" working for moveon.org.

[Stultis]

AP's short take...

TOP SPY: DOMESTIC SPYING PROGRAM COULD HAVE DETECTED 9/11 PLOT

WASHINGTON — In a wide-ranging defense of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance program, the government’s No. 2 intelligence official said Monday that the spy agency’s operations are not a drift net over U.S. communities.

Gen. Michael Hayden, former NSA director, described the 4-year-old program as narrowly targeted, using the same tools and techniques employed to decide whether to drop a 500-pound bomb on a terrorist target.

“Had this program been in effect prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the al-Qaida operatives in the United States,” Hayden said.

[frankjr]

Great speech by General Hayden. The facts always get in the way of the lefty agenda.

On a side note, I notice the first question was posed by Wayne Madsen "QUESTION: Yes, Wayne Madsen, syndicated columnist." If it is the same Madsen I am thinking of, the guy is a wacko.

Here is one of the books written by Wayne Madsen:
"America's Nightmare: The Presidency of George Bush II with John Stanton (Dandelion Books, 2003)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Madsen

As long as the left has idiots like Wayne on their side, the GOP will be in good shape.

[USS Alaska]

I both watched and re-read this Hayden speech and q&a and if anyone takes the time to read it {which the msm won't do} they will learn the reason why President Bush is using both warrentless surveilances and fisa court taps. It is very simple but you must read it and it's a long read.

If the demonRATs want to make this a campaign issue, they will get beat like a rented mule. In the words of Ronaldus Maximus, "We win, they lose".

[Sacajaweau]

If, by some remote circumstance, I wind up talking to or meeting with a terrorist...Please Mr. President...Follow me and protect me because these terrorists are the "People next door" and only you have the other dots.

[wmfights]

God Bless these men who are working so hard to keep us safe.

The questions are striking in how little listening the questioners exercise.

[Stultis]

Some news articles and, uh, other stuff via yahoo news. The meltdown by Kristen Breitweiser at the Puffington Post (a dunderheaded non sequitur) is fun, if sad.

1. Kristen Breitweiser: NSA Director Hayden--One Needle in a Growing Bush "Hay"stack of Lies 
   Huffington Post - 40 minutes ago
   The Bush Administration has continually used 9/11 as an excuse to break the laws of our great nation. A simple reading of the September 11th story shows that General Michael Hayden and the Bush Administration are, once again, contradicting themselves in their use of 9/11, this time with regard to President Bush's illegal domestic spying program. 1. NSA DIRECTOR, GENERAL MICHAEL HAYDEN
   Save to My Web
2. Attorney general: Congress knew scope of spy program 
   CNN.com - Jan 24 6:49 AM
   Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dismissed criticism of the National Security Agency's domestic spying program Tuesday, saying Congress was aware of its scope and approved it "under the authorization to use military force" against terrorism.
   Save to My Web
3. Bush Administration Steps Up Defense of Eavesdropping 
   New York Times - 17 minutes ago
   Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today cited a long history of military surveillance conducted without warrants.
   Save to My Web
4. Leader Who Worked to Reshape Agency's Image Is on the Defensive 
   New York Times - Jan 23 7:22 PM
   Gen. Michael V. Hayden, former head of the National Security Agency, has been speaking out on why the agency has conducted eavesdropping without warrants.
   Save to My Web
5. More News... 
   KXTV - Jan 23 9:02 AM
   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A former director of the National Security Agency is defending the Bush administration's domestic spying program. General Michael Hayden now holds the second-ranking job in the Office of the National Intelligence Director.
   Save to My Web
6. Intelligence Deputy Defends Surveillance Program 
   New York Times - Jan 23 9:37 AM
   Gen. Michael Hayden's comments came as the Bush administration kicked off a new effort to win support for the program.
   Save to My Web
7. Roulston gears up for Classic 
   Stuff - 1 hour, 48 minutes ago
   Hayden Roulston is relaunching his cycling career and this week's Wellington-Wairarapa Cycle Classic is another step along the way.
   Save to My Web
8. We only spy on bad guys, NSA big says 
   New York Daily News - Jan 24 1:24 AM
   WASHINGTON - Gen. Michael Hayden, the nation's No. 2 intelligence official, defended domestic eavesdropping yesterday, insisting the U.S. doesn't waste time spying on innocent Americans.
   Save to My Web
9. Abortion case anniversary brings out campus activists 
   State Press - Jan 24 6:08 AM
   Abortion rights groups set up tables on Hayden Lawn, handed out brightly colored condoms, sold pins that said, 'I love female orgasm' and talked to students about abortion issues Monday.
   Save to My Web
10. Bush Defends 'Terrorist Surveillance' 
    Idaho Press-Tribune - Jan 23 9:02 PM
    Back in Washington, Gen. Michael Hayden, the former National Security Agency director who is now the government's No. 2 intelligence official, contended the surveillance was narrowly targeted.
    Save to My Web

[frankjr]

I like this exchange:

"QUESTION: Jonathan Landay with Knight Ridder. I'd like to stay on the same issue, and that had to do with the standard by which you use to target your wiretaps. I'm no lawyer, but my understanding is that the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to be able to do a search that does not violate an American's right against unlawful searches and seizures. Do you use --

GEN. HAYDEN: No, actually -- the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure.

QUESTION: But the --

GEN. HAYDEN: That's what it says.

QUESTION: But the measure is probable cause, I believe.

GEN. HAYDEN: The amendment says unreasonable search and seizure.

QUESTION: But does it not say probable --

GEN. HAYDEN: No. The amendment says --

QUESTION: The court standard, the legal standard --

GEN. HAYDEN: -- unreasonable search and seizure. "

The General makes it clear that the Constitution uses the word reasonable and not probable cause as it relates to searches and seizures. I am guessing this is why our bags can be searched at the airport without going to a judge asking for a warrant first.

It seems like this NSA program is a narrowly target program where one side of the call is international and one party is a known or suspected Al Queda agent.

[MikeA]

"I saw the tail end of this on C-SPAN last night.as the General was leaving the room,some clown shouted out to him something like 'isn't it true that the US Military is spying on civilians...?'"

What a moron. What military were the 9-11 hijackers a part of? THEY WERE CIVILIANS! Tim McVeigh was also a civilian. There's nothing in FISA laws that say those tapped have to be members of a military force. Good gosh the US media is full of braindead, knee-jerk anti-Americans.

[r-q-tek86]

ping

[xarmydog]

I love the use of the word crawler!Describes most of the so called journalists there.Some sound dumber than a box of rocks!Sorry,I didn't mean to insults rocks.

[p23185]

What military were the 9-11 hijackers a part of? THEY WERE CIVILIANS! Tim McVeigh was also a civilian.

Aldrich Ames was not only a civilian, but a CIA employee - Toon spied on him without a warrant.

[Stultis]

My name is Travis Morales. [...] And my question -- I guess I have two questions for you. One is, as a participant in a group called, "The World Can't Wait: Drive Out the Bush Regime," which is organizing for people to drown out Bush's lies during the State of the Union, and to gather on February 4th demanding that Bush step down, my question is this

Guess Travis just forgot to mention that he's also a member of The Revolutionary Communist Party - San Francisco Bay Area Branch...

[OrioleFan]

I watched this on C-SPAN, then read this morning's USA Today and felt there must have been 2 briefings. Travis Morales and the Knight-Ridder, were real dipsticks.

[La Enchiladita]

I saw the General's comments excerpted in an article on the Fox website yesterday, and couldn't find it again today to save my soul.

Thank you so much for posting the entire transcript.

This, I think, is the supreme irony that outs all the current brouhaha for the political ploy that it is:

You know, I actually find this a little odd. After all the findings of the 9/11 commission and other bodies about the failure to share intelligence, I'm up here feeling like I have to explain pushing data to those who might be able to use it.

[nopardons]

bttt

[nopardons]

bttt