Colleen Rowley: Feinstein’s Phony Excuse for NSA Spying

[marmar]

from Consortium News:


Feinstein’s Phony Excuse for NSA Spying
October 7, 2013

After 9/11, the excuse for missing clues was too much data – trying to sip from a fire hose – but with the priority now excusing NSA spying, the metaphor is for more data – you can’t find a needle in a haystack without a haystack – a shift ex-FBI agent Coleen Rowley dissects.

By Coleen Rowley


More than a few bizarre aspects jumped out at me when I attended the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Oct. 2. Instead of providing needed oversight of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in light of shocking whistleblower disclosures about National Security Agency’s secret (and arguably illegal) interpretations that led to military surveillance and massive collection of metadata about innocent American citizens, it seemed much of the hearing went in the direction of overlook instead of oversight.

For starters, the two fact witnesses, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and NSA Director Keith Alexander, were not even asked to swear to tell the truth before they testified even though both have been discovered to have previously answered similar questions from Congress less than honestly. By weird contrast, the three professors, who testified after Clapper and Alexander and who merely provided their views of the law and technology, were asked to raise their right hands and were sworn in.

Some senators also went out of their way to make the two spy agency heads feel even more comfortable with a favorite observation: “If you want to find a needle in a haystack, you first must have a haystack.” What?! Of course self-righteous builders of massive haystacks are not inclined to point out that it’s inherently easier to find a needle if it isn’t covered with hay. ........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2013/10/07/feinsteins-phony-excuse-for-nsa-spying/

[xchrom]

1. du rec.

[leveymg]

2. FBI Director admitted the NSA had been monitoring Flt.77 hijackers

but CIA and top FBI managers withheld info from field investigators seeking FISA warrants. See, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/13/fbi-mueller-spy-tactics-9-11-boston Full story here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/14/1216187/-Director-Mueller-9-11-Hijackers-were-in-Fact-Under-NSA-Surveillance

The problem certainly isn't enough surveillance, it's what's done with it, and why some of the most important intercepts are suppressed primarily by CIA that is running operations with the individuals.

[blkmusclmachine]

3. DiFi

Not a fan of hers.