Billary/2008 wrote:
>
> Furthermore, says Miniter, "The U.S. government is not 'spying' on
> Americans. The NSA is only targeting people who have received a phone
> call or an email from a known al Qaeda terrorist. People who merely
> oppose the Bush administration and are not in contact with terrorist
> groups have not had their phones tapped."
"Trust us on that"? Sorry, no. That's why we need involvement by the
courts.
Note the phrase "in contact with terrorist groups". So that could
mean, say, a US journalist who contacts a source who has ties to a
terrorist group. If Bush's program is tapping those calls, there is no
question that it would be a violation of the law. All you have to do
is read FISA and any idiot would see that.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00001802----
000-.html
>
> "Let's set the record straight: the Bush Administration is not
> violating the rights of Americans," said Miniter. "Very few of the
> 300 people targeted for surveillance by the NSA are actually U.S.
> citizens. The overwhelming majority are what lawyers call 'U.S.
> persons,' a catchall term that includes legal and illegal residents
> of the United States."
Well there goes this guy's credibility. An illegal resident is NOT a
US Person under the act. If this guy gets such a basic fact wrong, why
should we believe anything he says?
(i) "United States person" means a citizen of the United States, an
alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section
1101 (a)(20) of title 8), an unincor****ated association a substantial
number of members of which are citizens of the United States or aliens
lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or a cor****ation which is
incor****ated in the United States, but does not include a cor****ation
or an association which is a foreign power, as defined in subsection
(a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.
>
> The FBI and the CIA have been using similar surveillance techniques
> against mobsters and spies for the past 30 years.
With court orders. That's the ****ing point.
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