US trying to justify NSA spying effort
Iran Press TV
Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:58PM GMT
Director of US National Intelligence James Clapper on Saturday declassified documents that show how the National Security Agency was first authorized to start collecting bulk phone and Internet records inside the United States and in other countries.
The disclosures are part of the White House's campaign to justify the NSA spying efforts, following leaks to the media about the controversial programs by former agency contractor Edward J. Snowden.
Clapper explained in a statement that former president George W. Bush first authorized the spying in October 2001 just after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the Associated Press. Bush disclosed the program in 2005.
The Terrorist Surveillance Program, which was eventually replaced by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, was aimed at fighting terrorism. But a federal judge last week called the program “unconstitutional” saying there was little evidence any terror plot had been thwarted by the program, known as Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.
On Friday, President Barack Obama said he would consider some changes to NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records to address public's concern about privacy.
A presidential advisory panel also suggested 46 changes to NSA operations. But it did not recommend the government end the spying efforts.
On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution aimed at protecting the right to privacy against unlawful surveillance.
Germany and Brazil introduced the resolution following the American spying scandal that showed the US was eavesdropping on foreign leaders, including Brazil's Dilma Rousseff and Germany's Angela Merkel.
The resolution called for all UN member states, including the US, to guarantee privacy rights to users of the Internet and other forms of electronic communications.
ARA/ARA
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