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Bush Acknowledges Approving Eavesdropping
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
12/17/05 -- - WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Saturday he has
no intention of stopping his personal authorizations of a post-Sept.
11 secret eavesdropping program in the U.S., lashing out at those
involved in revealing it while defending it as crucial to preventing
future attacks.
''This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our
national security,'' he said in a radio address delivered live from
the White House's Roosevelt Room.
''This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the
terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American
people expect me to do everything in my power, under our laws and
Constitution, to protect them and their civil liberties and that is
exactly what I will continue to do as long as I am president of the
United States,'' Bush said.
Angry members of Congress have demanded an explanation of the
program, first revealed in Friday's New York Times and whether the
monitoring by the National Security Agency without obtaining
warrants from a court violates civil liberties. One Democrat said in
response to Bush's remarks on the radio that Bush was acting more
like a king than the elected president of a democracy.
Bush said the program was narrowly designed and used ''consistent
with U.S. law and the Constitution.'' He said it is used only to
intercept the international communications of people inside the
United States who have been determined to have ''a clear link'' to
al-Qaida or related terrorist organizations.
The program is reviewed every 45 days, using fresh threat
assessments, legal reviews by the Justice Department, White House
counsel and others, and information from previous activities under
the program, the president said.
Without identifying specific lawmakers, Bush said congressional
leaders have been briefed more than a dozen times on the program's
activities.
The president also said the intelligence officials involved in the
monitoring receive extensive training to make sure civil liberties
are not violated.
Appearing angry at points during his eight-minute address, Bush said
he had reauthorized the program more than 30 times since the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and plans to continue doing so.
''I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing
threat from al-Qaida and related groups,'' he said.
The president contended the program has helped ''detect and prevent
possible terrorist attacks in the U.S. and abroad,'' but did not
provide specific examples.
He said it is designed in part to fix problems raised by the Sept.
11 commission, which found that two of the suicide hijackers were
communicating from San Diego with al-Qaida operatives overseas.
''The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers
like these 9-11 hijackers will be identified and located in time,''
he said.
In an effort by the administration that appeared coordinated to stem
criticism, Bush's remarks echoed -- in many cases word-for-word --
those issued Friday night by a senior intelligence official who
spoke on condition of anonymity. The president's highly unusual
discussion of classified activities showed the sensitive nature of
the program, whose existence was revealed as Congress was trying to
renew the terrorism-fighting Patriot Act and complicated that
effort, a top priority of Bush's.
Senate Democrats joined with a handful of Republicans on Friday to
stall the bill. Those opposing the renewal of key provisions of the
act that are expiring say they threaten constitutional liberties.
Reacting to Bush's defense of the NSA program, Sen. Russell
Feingold, D-Wis., said the president's remarks were ''breathtaking
in how extreme they were.''
Feingold said it was ''absurd'' that Bush said he relied on his
inherent power as president to authorize the wiretaps.
''If that's true, he doesn't need the Patriot Act because he can
just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he's President George
Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we
have and that we fought for,'' Feingold told The Associated Press in
a telephone interview.
The president had harsh words for those who talked about the program
to the media, saying their actions were illegal and improper.
''As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not
have,'' he said. ''The unauthorized disclosure of this effort
damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk.''
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press
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