[Clips] Gonzales Says NSA Criticism Misleading

[R. A. Hettinga]

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  Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:45:26 -0500
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  From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  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 <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
  The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
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'