Friday, December 16, 2005

Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts?

WASHINGTON -- UPDATED

COMMENTARY

Ot oh ... from the looks of the headline, Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts, I'll bet someone at the Times wasn't invited to yesterday's White House press holiday party!

After holding the story for a year, what better way to wack Bush than to run it to correspond with the big holiday press social event of the year and on the day after Iraqis go to the polls. We are not supposed to notice that the Times won't name their sources, other than to call then the faceless, standard and obligatory 'anonymous government officials,' and 'former senior official,' the latter of whom is quoted as using the hip line, "This is really a sea change," which makes absolutely no sense to anyone other than Bill Gates' followers. Once the article spills the beans on Bush and the NSA (and attributing the unnamed sources), the story digresses into old news and typical Times spin we already know all about.

And for the followup reports on the Times' story -- it's ready, set, mainstream march in lockstep.

UPDATED -- Leave it to Matt Drudge to find good dirt on the Times
Newspaper fails to inform readers "news break" is tied to book publication
(DRUDGE) On the front page of today's NEW YORK TIMES, national security reporter James Risen claims that "months after the September 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States... without the court approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials."

NEWSLINE
"This is really a sea change."

NEWSBYTE
Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (NYT) -- Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

RELATED
Bush Authorized Domestic Spying
(washingtonpost.com) President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States, despite previous legal prohibitions against such domestic spying, sources with knowledge of the program said last night.

Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 ­(NYT) -- Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

Washington Monthly
I just wanted to echo what Shakespearer's Sister said about the report that Bush signed an order allowing the NSA to spy on US citizens without a warrant.

Bush declines comment on NSA spying report
NEW YORK (MSNBC) -- President Bush refused to say whether the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States but leaders of Congress condemned the practice on Friday and promised to look into what the administration has done.

EAVESDROPPING INS AND OUTS
(National Review) Some brief background: The Foreign Intelligence Security Act permits the government to monitor foreign communications, even if they are with U.S. citizens -- 50 USC 1801, et seq. A FISA warrant is only needed if the subject communications are wholly contained in the United States and involve a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.

New York Times admits it held domestic spying story for a full year
(Raw Story) On the second page of a report which reveals the White House engaged in warrantless domestic spying, the New York Times reveals that it held the story for a full year at the request of the Bush Administration, RAW STORY can reveal.

RED ALERT: CHICKEN LITTLES ON THE LOOSE
(Michelle Maklin) This morning, the Drudge Report--HUGE RED FONT and all--chose to aid and abet the civil liberties Chicken Littles at the N.Y. Times. That's a shame. The real headline news is not that President Bush took extraordinary measures to protect Americans in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but that the blabbermouths at the Times chose to disclose classified information in a pathetically obvious bid to move the Iraqi elections off the front pages. And to help sabotage the Patriot Act reauthorization, which went down in the Senate this afternoon.

TENSION: Let's just tell all the National Security secrets
GRAVITY: Check your sources

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2 Comments:

Blogger Cathie said...

Clue: the story is international headlines, pretty much discrediting your claim against the Times.

You know who else spied on its citizens? USSR.

12:35 PM EST  
Blogger Steven Moyer said...

Saying a story is Intenational has nothing to do with my observations.

As far as spying on our own folks, I guess you have forgotten about the FBI, local and state police, Homeland Security, etc., etc.

Get some facts you can attribute and not just try to whack Bush, then you can feel free to come back.

1:07 PM EST  

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