[Mb-civic] Bush Defends Spying Program As 'Necessary' to Protect
U.S. - Washington Post
William Swiggard
swiggard at comcast.net
Mon Jan 2 05:19:50 PST 2006
Bush Defends Spying Program As 'Necessary' to Protect U.S.
But President Acknowledges Civil Liberties Concerns
By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 2, 2006; A02
President Bush today mounted his third defense in two weeks of his
secret domestic spying program, calling his order authorizing
warrantless eavesdropping on U.S. citizens a limited, legal program that
Americans understand is protecting their security.
Taking questions from reporters after a brief stop at an Army hospital
in San Antonio to visit wounded troops, the president acknowledged
concerns that monitoring overseas telephone calls and e-mails of
citizens with suspected ties to terrorism may violate civil liberties.
But he called his directive to the National Security Agency (NSA) after
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks "vital and necessary" to protect
the country.
"This is a limited program designed to prevent attacks on the United
States of America, and I repeat limited," Bush said before flying back
to Washington after six days cloistered on his ranch in Crawford, Tex.
"I think most Americans understand the need to find out what the enemy's
thinking.
"If somebody from al Qaeda is calling you, we'd like to know why."
The president's first public comments of the new year after no public
appearances last week offered a glimpse into how his administration
intends to deflect congressional inquiries into his authorization of
wiretaps on terrorism suspects -- with a vigorous defense of the program
as a matter of national security. Bush acknowledged in a live radio
address last month that he authorized the four-year-old surveillance
program and defended it as "critical to saving American lives," a tool
to prevent another attack on U.S. soil. Two days later, he defended the
legality of domestic spying in a lengthy year-end news conference at the
White House.
"It seems logical to me that if we know there's a phone number
associated with al Qaeda or an al Qaeda affiliate and they're making
phone calls, it makes sense to find out why," Bush said at the Brooke
Army Medical Center, where he met with about 50 wounded soldiers,
Marines and airmen and their families. He also awarded nine Purple
Hearts to troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "They attacked us
before, they'll attack us again."
The NSA is empowered to monitor international telephone calls and
e-mails of U.S. citizens and residents without the warrant usually
required by a secret foreign intelligence court. Government officials
have said that hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people have been
under surveillance.
Questions about whether Bush overstepped his constitutional authority
and violated a law intended to prevent the government from spying on its
citizens without court approval are likely to be central to hearings
planned this month by lawmakers, who stepped up their criticism today.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he supports a Senate investigation
into who leaked classified information on the spying program. But he
said the issue of whether the president skirted the law when he embarked
on the program is more important than who leaked the information.
Schumer said today that he has sent a letter to Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) calling on him to request
testimony from Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, White House Chief
of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and former attorney general John D.
Ashcroft. Specter, who has expressed "grave" doubts about the program,
has vowed to conduct hearings this month.
"I hope the White House won't hide behind saying, 'Oh, executive
privilege, we can't discuss this,' " Schumer said on "Fox News Sunday."
"That's the wrong attitude."
Along with the Senate, the Justice Department announced last week that
it has opened a criminal investigation into disclosures about the
domestic wiretaps, revealed last month by the New York Times. Today,
Bush said the leaks could cause "great harm" to the United States.
"There's an enemy out there."
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), speaking on Fox, agreed that finding out
who leaked details of the spying program is crucial "because whoever
leaked this information has done the U.S. and its national security a
great disservice."
But he said the investigation may be more appropriately handled by the
Senate Intelligence Committee, where many discussions are held behind
closed doors. "We're talking about this entirely too much out in public
as a result of these leaks and it's endangering our efforts to make
Americans more secure," McConnell said.
In Texas, Bush dodged a question about whether he was aware of any
resistance to the spying program by high-ranking Justice officials and
whether those concerns may have influenced his decision to approve it.
He said the Justice Department and members of Congress have reviewed the
program and continue to have oversight. He said he believes he is acting
within in law.
"The NSA program is one that listens to a few numbers called from the
outside of the United States of known al Qaeda or affiliated people," he
said.
The White House later clarified that the program monitors both incoming
and outgoing calls.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/01/AR2006010100428.html?nav=hcmodule
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