Text of President Bush remarks on NSA Telephone Traffic Analysis

President Bush ^ | 2006.5.11 | WhiteHouse

[TeleStraightShooter]

Phase I Traffic Analysis:
Scan the billion transaction dataBase for certain patterns.
No warrants required.

Phase II Targeted Surveillance :
When suspect(s) are identified, obtain a warrant if required.

"Fewer than 10 U.S. citizens or residents a year, according to an authoritative account, have aroused enough suspicion during warrantless eavesdropping to justify interception of their domestic calls, as well. That step still requires a warrant from a federal judge, for which the government must supply evidence of probable cause."

In other words work, domestic to domestic calls that are listened to are listened to with a warrant.

[mnehring]

Sounds like it was a good plan. If we don't know what domestic to domestic calls to get a warrant on, how do we get a warrant?

Technically, phone lines are not our property anyway.

[Grampa Dave]

fyi

[Dems_R_Losers]

I have zero doubt that if these programs had been in place in 2000 and early 2001 that 9/11 would not have happened. The patterns of phone calls coming from Germany and Yemen would have been discovered and warrants gotten for calls to and from Mohamed Atta. The two hijackers who the CIA knew about but lost after they entered the US would probably have been found.

[Paradox]

I, for one, am perfectly comfortable with corporate monitoring of my private activity and reporting it back to the federal government.

I'm not. Having said that, this type of activity, in this context, seems reasonable.

[Paradox]

Oh, and Welcome to FreeRepublic.

[magslinger]

I authorized the National Security Agency to intercept the international communications...

International communications is the key term. IMHO anyone making an international call with any expectation of privacy is an idiot. When I make an international call, I expect that someone might be listening in, and I don't see how it matters if it's US or someone else.

[Blue State Insurgent]

Is this like ABLE DANGER?

You gotta like the speed in which the President came out in front of this one. Snow or Bolten?

[MNJohnnie]

Using their property and equipment to conduct your activity means it is NOT your "private activity". You are acting in public since you are doing it on THEIR property. Trying to claim you have a right to privacy while using THEIR property is foolish.

[MNJohnnie]

Where Do I Sign? Since May 11, 2006

Nice Try Democrat Underground. So are you a new troll or one of the usual DU fools who comes around regulary to make wholly ignorant, nonsensical comments thinking they are "clever"?

[Rummyfan]

Third, the intelligence activities I authorized are lawful and have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat.

So what's the problem? Of course the Congressional idiots wil be all over the talk shows this weekend, attacking the President and General Hayden, basing all their accusations on an article in the McPaper USA Today.

[bwteim]

Yeah, sure.... go ahead and send in your own name.

BTW, the article says nothing about corporate monitoring and reporting back to the feds.

[TeleStraightShooter]

I do believe so, as ABLE DANGER was run off of publicly available information.

[MNJohnnie]

Where Do I Sign? Oh, and Welcome to FreeRepublic.

Well that was quick. It seems to be a pile of smoking ash smelling strongly of ozone now.

[AmeriBrit]

Bookmarked

[magslinger]

[Paradox]

They're not even clever, nor funny. No entertainment value to them.

[MNJohnnie]

Great pict. Mind if I steal it?