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Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:45:26 -0500
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From: "R. A. Hettinga"
Subject: [Clips] Gonzales Says NSA Criticism Misleading
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/2006/jan/24/012405864.html
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Las Vegas SUN
Today: January 24, 2006 at 11:56:13 PST
Gonzales Says NSA Criticism Misleading
By PETE YOST
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the Bush administration's
domestic spying program Tuesday and suggested that some critics and news
reports have misled Americans about the breadth of the National Security
Agency's surveillance.
Gonzales said the warrantless surveillance is critical to prevent another
terrorist attack within the United States and falls within President Bush's
constitutional authority and the powers granted by Congress immediately
following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
At a Georgetown Law School Forum, Gonzales said the nation needs "to
remember that ... it's imperative for national security reasons that we can
detect reliably, immediately and without delay" any al-Qaida related
communication entering or leaving the United States.
As he spoke, more than a dozen students stood silently with their backs
turned to the attorney general. Outside the classroom where Gonzales was to
speak, a pair of protesters held up a sheet that said, "Don't torture the
Constitution."
Gonzales cautioned his listeners about critics and journalists who have
mischaracterized details about the program. "Unfortunately, they have
caused concern over the potential breadth of what the President has
actually authorized," he said.
The attorney general's appearance at the law school is part of a campaign
by the Bush administration to overcome criticism, often by attempting to
redefine the program.
On Monday at Kansas State University, Bush said the program should be
termed a "terrorist surveillance program" and contended it has the backing
of legal experts, key lawmakers and the Supreme Court.
But some members of Congress from both parties have questioned whether the
warrantless snooping is legal. And many Democrats along with a number of
legal experts say flatly that Bush has broken the law and has committed an
impeachable offense.
Last week, Gonzales sent leaders of Congress a 42-page legal defense of
warrantless eavesdropping which suggests that the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act is unconstitutional if it prevents the NSA's warrantless
eavesdropping.
The National Security Agency program bypassed the special FISA court
Congress established in 1978 to approve or reject secret surveillance or
searches of foreigners and U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism or
espionage.
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R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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--
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'