Bush Defends Spying

[dooner]

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago

SAN ANTONIO - President Bush on Sunday strongly defended his domestic spying program, saying it's a limited program that tracks only incoming calls to the United States.
<snip>

"It's seems logical to me that if we know there's a phone number associated with al-Qaida or an al-Qaida affiliate and they're making phone calls, it makes sense to find out why," Bush said. "They attacked us before, they'll attack us again."

Asked how he responds to Americans worried about violations of their privacy, Bush responded,

"If somebody from al-Qaida is calling you, we'd like to know why."
<snip>

"This is a limited program designed to prevent attacks on the United States of America and, I repeat, limited," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060101/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush

[rosesaylavee]

1. Liar.

Too bad - this sound bite will probably play on the koolaid station.

[Cocoa]

2. he could get a warrant

his rhetoric fails to explain why he went around the law.

[antonialee839]

11. He keeps saying time was of the essence

when it came to his spying, and getting a warrant was not an
option. Now we all know this is a load of baloney and he had up to
3 days after the fact to get a warrant. The Bush Crime Family will keep
repeating this line to the sheeple until they too begin to repeat it.
The same way Bush said he had to attack Iraq because Saddam refused to let the inspectors in, even though Bush gave the inspectors that weren't there inspecting, 48 hours to get out of the country before he commenced bombing it back to the Stone-age. I can't count how many times a wingnut has tried to use the "Saddam wouldn't let the inspectors" in argument.

[PSPS]

15. Not 3 days -- 15 days

FISA allows up to 15 days "in a time of war" to get a retroactive warrant.

[antonialee839]

23. I thought it was 72 hours. Damn they got me!

[bear425]

44. Please read my post here. I want to clear up some misinfo

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2015569&mesg_id=2015670

thanks.

[bear425]

25. That, I believe, is not true. Read here:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200512210011

Media conservatives wrongly claimed provisions in FISA authorized Bush's domestic spying

Summary: Conservatives in the media claimed that Bush's authorization of domestic surveillance by the NSA without warrants is legal under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. However, provisions of the law allow warrantless surveillance of foreign powers only, or for just 15 days following a declaration of war.

[Kagemusha]

31. There's also retroactive warrants after 72 hours on top of that.

Real restrictive law, huh?

[annabanana]

16. WHEN is someone going to smack him about this lie?

If anyone ever tries that bs around me they'd better duck, because I WILL smack them upside the head for it, I swear!!

[0007]

35. I got it form a repuke woman that I thought was a Dem.

I can't bring myself to hit a woman.

[sweetheart]

34. The day that motherfucker dies

I'll dance the highland fling.
Every year he doesn't kick off, is too long.
He's dead already, i can't hear a word he says.
phew!

He went around the law to fuck with people.
We know it, he knows it.
He lies.
Its all a bit thin.

The day that motherfucker dies, i'll dance the highland fling. :-)

[Enraged_Ape]

36. NO KIDDING. The little pissant is a LIAR, PERIOD!!!!

There is absolutely NO reason why this useless jerk would circumvent the law.

Well, that's not exactly true. He WOULD circumvent the law if:

1) There is no way that the people he wanted to spy on would be justified by a judge, even retroactively (which the law provides for).

2) There is no way that the people he wanted to spy on would be legal in any sense whatsoever.

And that's it.

Lurking Freepers, please let us know about any exceptions to the above. I won't hold my breath, because there AREN'T any exceptions.

[stray cat]

3. Then he should attempt to do it within the law.

and there is no way the terrorism threats will ever be limited in time. The issue is the president thinks he is above the law and the constitution. If it is truely needed there are ways for it to be done legally. If changes to the law are needed he can follow the constitution to try and get it changed.

[countingbluecars]

4. Limited program?

Limited to anyone they want to keep in line, and I'll bet it's not all about al-Qaida.

[indepat]

20. I'd bet the house, wife, and kids (grown) it's not all about al-Qaida, but

much more about spying on those domestic enemies (those with the temerity to speak out or question any policy of action of this Administration).

If spying on political enemies were a significant thrust of this unconstitutional spying, I wonder if any Repug Congressmen would get on board the impeachment train. Nah, not likely save one or two.

Edited to add 2nd para.

[wordpix2]

26. you win bet. ACLU confirms * spying on Greenpeace, PETA, ACLU and others

I think DU should FOIA these documents to see if they're spying on US.

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/23150prs20051220.ht...

<snip> To expose FBI monitoring of political and religious groups in the United States, the ACLU filed FOIAs in 20 states on behalf of over 150 organizations and individuals. Today the ACLU made public the latest documents obtained in the project which confirm that the FBI is using counterterrorism resources to monitor and infiltrate advocacy groups including PETA, Greenpeace, the American Arab Anti Defamation Committee the ACLU itself. www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/23124prs20051220.html

[w13rd0]

5. So he's just monitoring our calls...

...to make sure we don't get any pesky calls from Al Qaida...???

"Hi, this is Ossama bin Laden, and I'd like to tell you about the wonderful deal we have for you today on jihadi explosive supplies. If you'd like to hear more, please press 1. If you'd like to be taken off our list, press 2."

Ok, sure, whatever...

[lyonn]

6. Be afraid, be very afraid

I'm of course referring to bush's brain. Just saw his media event at Brooks AFB and he is looking and acting weird. Grinnin' and chucklin'.

If you get one of those phone calls that you don't understand (foreigner type) be sure and report it. Bush wants to know so he can keep us safe. What do we do about those from India?

[DoYouEverWonder]

24. He's got that same look on his face

that he had on during the first week of Katrina.



Plus he's got another head wound.

[wordpix2]

27. head wound is from a cedar tree. What a dolt

[lyonn]

53. Looks like he keep banging up the same side of head

Chain saw/drink in right hand so fall to the left - or the mental defect affects him falling on the same side. While he was answering reporters questions he kept this ridiculous grin on his face that made his face a mass of deep lines and wrinkles. My fear of this man has really affected my insane ability to truly believe he is loosing it or lost it. He wasn't doing well when he sorta had control but now, it's hard to say if his goofiness could really hurt our country more. Will no one stop him? I have never had this fear of a politician before. We could always count on electing someone else. No other president has messed with our country this bad. The only way for our country to save face is to impeach. Reminds me of the child's fairy tale of the little red hen, she said, "who will help me ....."

[Jade Fox]

7. This is maddening!

The fact that he LIED and LIED about going through legal channels is once again evaded!

[Bob3]

8. Such bull shit - do they have the Internal Al Qaida Phone book?

No of course not - so the people they say are Al Qaida could be anyone the paranoid mind of Dick Cheney decides is Al Qaida. Madness -

I know it's limited - it's limited to the opponents of *'s Iraq policy.

This is also pretty much an admission they bugged Kerry, Dean, Kennedy and what not - back in Nixon's day they tried to link opponents of the viet nam war to the Soviet Union. So I'm fairly certain now that this was a fishing expedition against their political opponents trying to link them to Al Qaida.

And did they bug Members of Parliament?


This just gets worse the more comes out.

[xxqqqzme]

19. 'could be anyone the paranoid mind

of Dick Cheney decides is Al Qaida.'....or whoever blivet decides is an enemy combatant.......hmmmmm???

[dooner]

9. They didn't do anything with the intel that came their way pre-911

seems like they have a problem doing anything useful with the intel they get.

Hey, maybe George thinks Osama is hiding here in the US?!

The problem with any Bush statement is that you really have to stop and wonder if he's intelligent enough to realize that he is
breaking the law and messing with the constitution.

[onehandle]

10. "somebody from al-Qaida"

Defined as anyone with a darker skin color than an average Bush familiy member.

"somebody from al-Qaida" What? Do they have an office? Are they in the phone book?

This is stupid on so many levels.

A Democratic Congress in 2006 = An Impeached Bush.

[oioioi]

40. Anagrams "somebody from al-Qaida" :)

abysmal doomed of Iraq

Arabs foam moodily - QED

Iraq oaf - bedlam, sodomy

[emald]

12. this idiot of a pResident

lies anytime his mouth is open. It is indicative of our sad state of being that some still believe what comes out of his mouth.
LIAR

[Dr Fate]

13. How can an objective person believe a single word he says? n/t

n/t

[baby_bear]

14. Since when did it become limited to INcoming calls?

The way I have read it, it was limited to incoming and outgoing telephone calls and emails, i.e, from or to international destinations.

Is he trying to revise history again, or am I misinformed?

b_b

[Serial Mom]

37. So most of us could be spied on either way!

When we call for computer support, we are calling to an international call center - when we call about some of our credit cards, we are calling internationally and occasionally some calls about insurance are routed to an international call center.

They are interpreting the power dubya demands way too broadly and it against all I believe - they are limiting OUR freedoms while claiming to bring those same freedoms to another country in their 'nation building' grandiose ideas. They have killed approximately 30,000 innocent civilians in Iraq because of some trumped up charge that their country had something to do with killing approximately 3,000 of our citizens.

They tell so many lies they can't keep up with them!

[NJmaverick]

17. WHY IS HE TELLING THE TERRORISTS ALL THE DETAILS?!?!

He claims leaks are "great harm to the nation." yet he is leaking important details of the program!

[xxqqqzme]

18. excuse me - just why should we believe

anything coming from this serial liar?

Your credibility is limted - I repeat limited!

[Rose Siding]

21. A "few numbers"? The NYT said "hundreds and perhaps thousands of people"

Bush says here:
"The NSA program is one that listens to a few numbers called from the outside of the United States of known al-Qaida or affiliated people," he said, adding that he believes that he is acting within the law.

But the Post reported:

The super-secretive NSA, which has generally been barred from domestic spying except in narrow circumstances involving foreign nationals, has monitored the e-mail, telephone calls and other communications of hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people under the program, the New York Times disclosed last night.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600021.html

Lots of traffic for a few numbers. Or is he a LIAR?

[wordpix2]

28. see my post #26

[stepnw1f]

22. Bush Has Biz Ties with Bin Ladens

So lets hear what Bush's family phone records.

[DoYouEverWonder]

29. Not a bad idea

I don't see why that should be a problem unless they have something to hide? Isn't that what the freepers say?

[baby_bear]

39. Good point, DoYouEverWonder

The newspapers seem to be receiving lots of letters to the editor saying that, in essence, who cares if the federal government is snooping and spying on you, as long as you have nothing to be ashamed of?

So, the same should go for the Bush administration.

During the Viet Nam war era, individuals who had participated in anti-war protests found out that they had FBI files on them. Maybe all of us who have participated in anti-Iraq War protests, or even in campaigns not favored by the Bush administration, should submit a FOIA request to find out if we now have files on us individually.

Better keep expectations low that we'll get a response, though.

Maybe it's better to send an extra donation to the ACLU about now.

b_b

[Stevious]

30. Bush is brain dead

Or he thinks the rest of us are....

It sounds like he's getting half-baked talking points from the blowhard pundits on Fox or something.

:wtf:

[mia]

32. How about the track of the incoming calls to the Riggs Bank?

“Congressional investigators and banking regulators are scouring Riggs accounts in a wide-ranging investigation revolving around the netherworlds of terrorist financing, money laundering, and the seamier geopolitics of Big Oil.”

But you won’t find that sentence in the Washington Post. It was five graphs into Tim O’Brien’s front-page story in the New York Times Sunday business section April 11. O’Brien’s 3,000-word story followed Glenn Simpson’s April 7 front-page Wall Street Journal story, which was both definitive and news-breaking.

As the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times were breaking stories and painting the big picture, the Post was playing catch-up with short news stories. One Post piece had to attribute information and quotes to CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek, where Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball wrote: “The Riggs account showed a number of checks to flight-school students in the United States . . .”

“There’s no excuse for missing a story like this,” says Bill Regardie, who published business magazines in Washington. “It’s as bad as the FBI missing 9/11.”

more




It's time for another look into why Riggs Bank suddenly folded.

[dooner]

46. they probably don't need to spy on Riggs, their friends run it n/t

[0007]

33. This limited program goes right down to the bare bones.

[BikeWriter]

38. He broke the LAW! Impeach the bastard!

[kentuck]

41. And we're supposed to take this liar's word for it?

I want some oversight from Congress and both Parties should know, even if in closed intelligence meeting, who was spied upon and why? Nobody should take Bush's word. He's proven that he cannot tell the truth even if it was to his benefit. He cannot be trusted.

[HuffleClaw]

42. he's TRYING to spin the truth... BADLY

only folks who'll buy this are the kool-aid drinkers. a few trite phrases will convince nobody else. he's doing his best to create another myth, like he did with the iraq=911 stuff. however, seeing as more ugly details emerge nearly daily, he'll be lost in the flood.

[maryallen]

43. Yeah, that explains why Gov. Richardson ...

was tapped talking to Colin Powell.

Liars ...GD liars.

[MODemocrat]

45. He actually kept a straight face as he lied again

How can anyone possibly believe a word that he says? He's so good at lying, he actually believes
himself! :crazy: :boring: :shrug:

[unblock]

47. HOW CAN HE CONTEND THAT THE LEAK CAUSED HARM????

let's noodle this one.

the big thing about this program is that they can get WARRANTLESS wiretapping.

the baddies already knew they could do wiretapping with a retroactive warrant, and that only 4 applications had been denied in FOREVER.

so somehow, the fact that they can do the EXACT SAME THING **WITHOUT A WARRANT** helps the terrorists how, exactly??????

how on earth has this leak harmed america???

[54anickel]

49. It's breaking the lock-step of his loyal followers, those that followed

blindly as well as those who were in cahoots from the beginning. It's dividing Murika after he worked so hard to unite it. :puke:

It's harmed his neo-con vision for Murika, with him as emperor after all his "hard werk" to get us this close to hell.

[54anickel]

48. Ahhh, I see. So those Quakers were having phone and e-mail conversations

with "the enemy". Can't have them praying with Muslims for hostages in Iraq or "counter recruiting" with the Truth Project. Why that's downright unpatriotic! :sarcasm:

[daleo]

50. If the snooping is illegal, then it should be stopped

And he should be impeached. That's what happens when a country follows the rule of law, rather than the rule of the ruler. This is one more sign of the creeping militarism of the U.S. ("Sorrows of Empire", Chalmers Johnson).

[Amonester]

51. Is it just me or "They attacked us before, ...

they'll attack us again."

WHAT?? :scared:

You know... With all these reports about NATO countries being .visited. so that GoCheneYoursse elf and Rumsfail and their cronies are about to bomb Iran, anyone here thinks they planned another new Pearl Harbor, and that once again, Bu$h KNOWS?? :shrug:

[lyonn]

54. I was hoping that dumb remark was just another

"be fearful, be very fearful, comment. It was like someone talking to a 3rd grader.

[Evergreen Emerald]

52. Let him keep talking

Anything he says can be used against him in a court of law.

[Supersedeas]

55. Didn't the WH have to issue a "clarification" b/c * lied again about the

scope of the Program.

Limited, the hell you say, LIAR.

[Canuckistanian]

56. If Al-Qaeda is calling, then you have probable cause

And you'll have no problem whatsoever with the FISA court.

I'd like to know what was happening with all those wiretaps FISA turned down.