|
This is just now coming out?
The Bush Administration built an unprecedented surveillance operation to pull in mountains of information far beyond the warrantless wiretapping previously acknowledged, a team of federal inspectors general reported Friday, questioning the legal basis for the effort but shielding almost all details on grounds they’re still too secret to reveal.
The report, compiled by five inspectors general, refers to “unprecedented collection activities” by U.S. intelligence agencies under an executive order signed by President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Just what those activities involved remains classified, but the IGs pointedly say that any continued use of the secret programs must be “carefully monitored.”
The inspectors general interviewed more than 200 people inside and outside the government, but five former Bush administration officials refused to be questioned. They were Ashcroft, Yoo, former CIA Director George Tenet, former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and David Addington, an aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Although the report documents Bush administration policies, its fallout could be a problem for the Obama administration if it inherited any or all of the still-classified operations.
“The notion that basically one person at the Justice Department, John Yoo, and Hayden and the vice president’s office were running a program around the laws that Congress passed, including a reinterpretation of the Fourth Amendment, is mind boggling,” Harman said.
House Democrats are pressing for legislation that would expand congressional access to secret intelligence briefings, but the White House has threatened to veto it.
Let’s see what Obama has to say about this mess.
What a blathering idiot & simpleton. Worst president EVER!
The questions are these:
Who the hell was Cheney really, and why did he need to spy on so many people constantly? What’s going on in his circle of friends needing to wallow in paranoia?
#1. No worse than a man who says something like that without even making it clear which President he’s talking about.
I would think it might be reasonable and prudent for Obama to say nothing. That way you don’t have a problem keeping your story straight.
Obama will posture and crow and complain, change the name of the program, claim he’s shut it down… and then keep it going.
I thought this was all common knowledge anyway?
Obama won’t do a damn thing, he inherited all the ‘operations’ and will use them as needed for our cause.
Friday political scandal news at its best, forgotten by Monday in the United States of Amnesia.
Gee, I’m still waiting for all those Americans tortured and imprisioned by the Bush secret police to be released so they can tell America their story. The MSM is waiting with baited breath. So far all I have seen are Al Queda terrorist, some of them back on the battlefield, being released from Gitmo.
Government “Programs” are always more fascist/power grabbing than publicly announced. Obama’s track record so far is mostly not wanting past failures to interfere with his plans to change America but twinged with a dash of protecting against his own possible prosecution in the future–doesn’t want to set up a tit for tat scenario.
Still, when Congress and the President fail to enforce the laws against past regimes, they only set the precedent and foretell their own desires to also break the law.
Evil is good men doing nothing. With corrupt politicians its just more of the same.
O’Mama, change you can believe in, if you are an idiot.
It didn’t take long for the Bush defenders to come to his rescue. Nor did it take long to try and deflect the criticism to Obama. The only tune these asshats know.
KD, a bit of a title correction. You wrote, “Bush Surveillance Program Goes Beyond Congress And 4th Amendment”
It should read, “Bush Surveillance Program WENT Beyond Congress And 4th Amendment”
Unless, Obama has continued these violations of the US Constitution… Apparently, he has, so the actual title should be, “Obama has continued the Bush surveillance programs and is going beyond Congress And the 4th Amendment”
Fixed. Your welcome.
#1 – You are correct. The President is the worst president ever. Because of his surveillance, he knows I said that too.
C’mon kiddies. Lets recognize this CANCER in our government. It is systemic arising from general corruption, two party politics, and power aggregating onto itself. The “personalities” are red herrings. Until we vote all incumbents out of office until a new spirit is born from the people, our downward spiral will only continue.
VOTE ALL INCUMBENTS OUT OF OFFICE.
#14 You are SO correct.
From the article:
This gives me a great idea! We should have the FBI go through everyone’s garbage. I mean, the possibility of producing useful information should make the operation worthwhile, right? Plus, they can make sure the recycling is all properly sorted!
– – –
The fact that all their telephone communications were likely heavily monitored makes the overall Democratic victory last election day that much more impressive.
Just “coming out” now? Mark Klein blew the whistle in the Fall of ’07. This just confirms what Klein said both on teevee (MSNBC) and in Congressional testimony. Obama? He was in favor of telcom immunity to sweep it under the rug. The biggest joke of all is the “mind boggling” of Rep. Jane Harman! She was with Bush since Day 1 after the original NY Times story hit in Dec. 2005.
#1 Animal Mother
Worst president EVER! You are correct.
You are talking about Obomba, right?
COINTELPRO for the 21st century. And since the Bushistas (meaning Cheney/Rumsfeld) transferred a huge amount of spook business to the Pentagon which, unlike the CIA, _doesn’t have to report what they’re doing in the intel arena to Congress (which is undoubtedly WHY the switch was made), just imagine what sort of illegal activities are going on that we’ll never know about. Hello Big Bro!
“At a “Great Conversations” event at the University of Minnesota legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh may have made a little more news than he intended by talking about new alleged instances of domestic spying by the CIA”
Obama’s monitoring this site right now, and preparing the audits.
I just realized something. The article says the Bush adminstration did something unspecified that was absolutely awful by way of information gathering but they won’t even tell me what was unprecedented about it.
They had the unAmerican, unconstitutional Patriot Act passed by both parties because they were scared silly and completely wimping out. I’m not sure how they could go much farther than recording all electronic communications made by everyone unless somebody thinks they turned on the phones and listened in to everything being said? That 99.999,999,999% of what they got wasn’t worth listening to goes without saying.
Of course they most likely did pick up some good stock tips somewhere but then some people were probably telling them that the smart money invested with Berny Madoff.
All this, yet you can almost guarantee nobody will go to jail…
They should arrest everyone involved on terrorism charges.
# 23 Somebody_Else said, “They should arrest everyone involved on terrorism charges.”
If that happened we wouldn’t have a President or Congress left…
#7 RS – Actually some reporting was done. They won a Peabody award.
http://www.pri.org/politics-society/134.html
I find it socking that John Yoo can still get a job teaching law. With Yoo ideas and a president that decides to ignore the rest the Constitution we are all screwed. How much pain will happen before we get the second republic of America?
Obviously, we’d all be much better off if Sarah Palin was running things.
As luck would have it, she’s currently free of any and all obligations.
#24 Patrick said
“If that happened we wouldn’t have a President or Congress left…”
so? the fed runs shit now anyway
# 27 Weary Reaper said, “Obviously, we’d all be much better off if Sarah Palin was running things.”
If Obama continues screwing as badly has he has so far, that may come to pass…
It doesn’t matter who you vote for, the government always win.
#29
I can hardly wait! Talk about entertainment!
Compared to Palin, Bush and Cheney were rank amateurs.
# 31 Weary Reaper said, “I can hardly wait! Talk about entertainment!”
Almost as good as watching O’mama fumble along. LOL
#32 – Patrick
What does LOL mean? Loving Our Lord? How does that apply?
Who is O’mama? Is that a racist slur? Don’t you like black people? Did a black person once do something bad to you or did your parents teach you blind hatred?
Say, do they allow blatant racists on this blog? Sort of like the KKK and skinhead blogs? Apparently they do. That’s an interesting discovery.
Actually, to answer your question, it’s not nearly as much fun, watching an intelligent person with a good heart trying to do his best in a nearly impossible situation and failing.
I prefer to watch the brainless clowns, who crash into walls and into each other. That’s much funnier.
Just think, when Palin gets to be President, she’s bound to say and do something incredibly stupid every single day of the week. What a lot of fun that will be! I really can’t wait.