As Obama defends counterterrorism tactics, he finds himself in Bush territory
Video: Speaking to members of the press Friday, President Obama sought to assure Americans that the government collects telephone call durations and numbers but not content.
The comments were triggered by a pair of disclosures about the operations of the NSA, the highly secretive agency responsible for eavesdropping on electronic communications around the globe.
The NSA is barred from spying on Americans. But a classified court order published by the Guardian newspaper showed that the NSA had been given authority by a special court to collect calling data on millions of Americans from a subsidiary of the Verizon telecommunications company.
NSA slides explain the PRISM data-collection program
Timeline of surveillance
A timeline of surveillance in the United States from 2001 to 2013: from the Patriot Act to the PRISM program.
Government, companies argue that surveillance is lawful, limited
U.S. officials and Internet firms say there was no unlimited access or data mining of company servers.
Obama, welcome to Bush territory
Defending his counterterror tactics, the president finds himself in a situation similar to his predecessor's.
Obama calls for cyberwarfare planning in top-secret document
Directive to national security officials requires steps to follow international laws and minimize damage.
U.S. officials said similar orders are in force against other carriers, meaning that the NSA probably has a database containing details including location and duration of cellphone calls dating back years.
The Washington Post then disclosed classified documents describing a separate program code-named PRISM that indicated the NSA has established access to the servers of companies including Microsoft, Google and Apple. The access would enable the U.S. government to extract audio, video, e-mails and other content, though Obama said no e-mails of U.S. citizens or residents are examined.
U.S. officials have said that the data obtained by the NSA do not include names of individuals and that the agency is not allowed to see the contents of communications involving Americans without evidence of a connection to terrorism and a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees requests for surveillance of suspected foreign agents inside the United States.
Still, the scope of the programs stunned experts and appeared to contradict recent statements by administration officials.
In a March hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has in recent years raised concerns about the domestic activities of the NSA, asked Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. point-blank, "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?"
"No, sir," Clapper responded before adding, "Not wittingly."
A spokesman for Clapper did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Statistics released by the Justice Department indicate that some surveillance operations authorized by the court have expanded under Obama and that others have remained at levels established under Bush. Requests for warrants under the provision used to compel Verizon to turn over data have surged, from 13 in 2008 to 212 last year.
Meanwhile, Obama has fought legal attempts to force the government to disclose Justice Department opinions that provide the legal basis for NSA surveillance programs. In 2011, the administration released two heavily redacted memos that had been in effect under Bush, but it has yet to produce any of its own.
Since 2008, "the administration has changed, Congress has changed, leadership of intelligence agencies has changed," said Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been involved in the effort to obtain the memos. But surveillance, Jaffer said, "grows steadily bigger and less accountable every year."
The NSA disclosures added to the list of surveillance and counterterrorism controversies that have erupted in the early months of Obama's second term. Obama recently sought to tamp down criticism of the tactics and secrecy associated with the drone campaign by releasing information on Americans who had been killed and imposing tighter limits on strikes.
The White House also renewed its support for legal protections for journalists after it was revealed that the FBI had surreptitiously gathered calling records and other sensitive data on reporters for the Associated Press and Fox News.
On Friday, Obama delivered a measured defense of electronic surveillance programs, but he also expressed frustration with what he called "hype" surrounding the NSA's operations.
"I think it's interesting that there are some folks on the left, but also some folks on the right who are now worried about it who weren't worried about it when it was a Republican president," Obama said.
No comments:
Post a Comment