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Showing Original Post only (View all)Obama Defends Surveillance Programs as Legal and Limited [View all]
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON President Obama on Friday offered a robust defense of the government surveillance programs revealed this week, and sought to reassure the public that his administration has not become a Big Brother with eyes and ears throughout the world of online communications.
Nobody is listening to your telephone calls, Mr. Obama said, delivering a 14-minute answer to two questions about the surveillance programs during a four-day trip to the West Coast at an event that was initially supposed to be devoted to the health care law. Thats not what this program is about.
The presidents remarks were his first since the revelations this week of programs to collect information about phone calls and Internet traffic. Mr. Obama said the programs help prevent terrorist attacks and they are kept in check by rigorous judicial and Congressional oversight.
He acknowledged that the public may be uncomfortable with the broad reach of the formerly secret programs, but he said he believed the government had struck the right balance between the need to fight terrorism and the need to protect privacy.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/us/national-security-agency-surveillance.html
'Five years ago, six years ago, we would not be having this debate... I think it's good.'
The President said he welcomes the discussion.