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To: Fjord

I would think that would probably be impossible. Echelon harvests millions of items of communications a day. I'm not sure what testimony you're refering to, and I'm not familiar with it, but to say that every piece of information gathered by echelon is warranted is wrong.


329 posted on 08/17/2006 12:38:09 PM PDT by letsgonova19087
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To: letsgonova19087

I would think that you and I have no idea what ECHELON does and does not harvest or monitor... it's all speculation, unless you happen to work with it, in which case I'd recommend silence, for your sake ;)

Here's the relevant quote from Tenet to Congress on April 12, 2000:

"I’m here today to discuss specific issues about and allegations regarding Signals Intelligence activities and the so-called Echelon Program of the National Security Agency…

There is a rigorous regime of checks and balances which we, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the FBI scrupulously adhere to whenever conversations of U.S. persons are involved, whether directly or indirectly. We do not collect against U.S. persons unless they are agents of a foreign power as that term is defined in the law. We do not target their conversations for collection in the United States unless a FISA warrant has been obtained from the FISA court by the Justice Department."

Now, I suppose he could be lying to Congress. I mean, one never knows. That doesn't make it OK for Bush to do it though. For crying out loud, what the hell has happened to the Republican party? I'm a lifelong Republican myself. I even voted for Bush over Gore and Kerry. Honestly though, how can we all sit here and defend what this administration is doing to our civil liberties?


347 posted on 08/17/2006 12:51:25 PM PDT by Fjord
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