[governance] AP Spy Chief Seeks More Eavesdropping Power + 1 BBC

[Riaz K. Tayob]

Snips from two articles:

AP:
National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell could not say how many 
Americans' phone conversations have been overheard because of U.S. 
wiretaps on foreign phone lines.

"I don't have the exact number ... considering there are billions of 
transactions every day," McConnell told the House Judiciary Committee at 
a hearing on the law governing federal surveillance of phone calls and 
e-mails.

BBC:

Mr McConnell was defending new legislation allowing the US government to 
eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails without a warrant.




Spy Chief Seeks More Eavesdropping Power
     By Pamela Hess
     The Associated Press

     Tuesday 18 September 2007

     Washington - No Americans' telephones have been tapped without a 
court order since at least February, the top U.S. intelligence official 
told Congress Tuesday.

     But National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell could not say how 
many Americans' phone conversations have been overheard because of U.S. 
wiretaps on foreign phone lines.

     "I don't have the exact number ... considering there are billions 
of transactions every day," McConnell told the House Judiciary Committee 
at a hearing on the law governing federal surveillance of phone calls 
and e-mails.

     McConnell said he could only speak authoritatively about the seven 
months since he became DNI.

     In a newspaper interview last month, he said the government had 
tapped fewer than 100 Americans' phones and e-mails under the Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires warrants from a secret 
intelligence court.

     McConnell is seeking additional changes to the law, which Congress 
hastily modified just before going on vacation in August based in part 
on the intelligence chief's warnings of a dire gap in U.S. intelligence.

     The new law eased some of the restrictions on government 
eavesdropping contained in the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 
Act, to let the government more efficiently intercept foreign 
communications.

     Under the new law, the government can eavesdrop, without a court 
order, on communications conducted by a person reasonably believed to be 
outside the United States, even if an American is on one end of the 
conversation - so long as that American is not the intended focus or 
target of the surveillance.

     Such surveillance was generally prohibited under the original FISA 
law unless a court approved it. Bypassing court approval is one of the 
most controversial aspects of the new Protect America Act, which will 
expire in January unless Congress extends it.

     Before McConnell can convince Congress to make the Protect America 
Act permanent - and agree to even more changes easing the provisions of 
FISA - he first has to allay concerns that the law passed so hastily 
earlier this year does not subject Americans to unwarranted government 
surveillance.

     "The right to privacy is too important to be sacrificed in a 
last-minute rush before a congressional recess, which is what happened," 
said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the panel's chairman.

     Democrats worry that the law could be interpreted to open business 
records, library files, personal mail, and homes to searches by 
intelligence and law enforcement officers without a court order.

     Assistant Attorney General Kenneth L. Wainstein said the new 
surveillance powers granted by the Protect America Act apply only when 
the assistance of a communications company is needed to conduct the 
surveillance. Therefore, he said, the government could not use the law 
to search homes, open mail or collect business records because no 
communications provider would be involved in such a transaction.

     Many Democrats in Congress are now seeking to narrow what they 
consider to be overly broad language by rewriting the law. Wainstein 
warned that inserting specific prohibitions on government surveillance 
to protect civil liberties could have unintended consequences.

     "Anytime you put in limiting language, you've got to make sure it 
doesn't have unintended limiting consequences," Wainstein said.

     McConnell said that as long as his office can examine every word of 
the new language to scrub it for unintended consequences, he would be 
open to the changes.

     However, Bush administration officials say concern about the new 
powers is unfounded. They contend the Protect America Act only allows 
the government to target foreigners for surveillance without a warrant, 
a change that was needed because of changes in communications technology.

     Addressing the controversy over the law, the Justice Department and 
the White House Tuesday issued a "myth and facts" paper meant to ease 
the concerns of civil liberties advocates and privacy groups that 
believe it gives the government broader powers than intended.

     Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, chairman of the subcommittee on the 
Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, called the effort a 
troubling "charm offensive."

     "Let's have some truth in advertising. The act gives the president 
almost unfettered power to spy without judicial approval - not only on 
foreigners but on Americans," Nadler said.

     McConnell said the new eavesdropping powers are needed not just to 
spy on terrorists but also to defend against more traditional potential 
adversaries.

     He told the panel that China and Russia are aggressively spying on 
sensitive U.S. facilities, intelligence systems and development 
projects, and that their efforts are approaching Cold War levels.

     McConnell and Wainstein pushed for other changes in the law, 
including granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies 
which may have helped the government conduct surveillance prior to 
January 2007 without a court order under the so-called Terrorist 
Surveillance Program. Wainstein said there are 40 to 50 lawsuits filed 
against telecommunications companies that are now pending in U.S. courts.


BBC NEWS
Russia and China 'spying on US'
Russia and China are spying on US facilities at close to Cold War 
levels, the head of US intelligence has warned.

Both were aggressively collecting information on the US, head of 
National Intelligence Michael McConnell warned.

US agencies are battling traditional state foes as well as terror 
groups, Mr McConnell told a congressional hearing.

Mr McConnell was defending new legislation allowing the US government to 
eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails without a warrant.

"Foreign intelligence information concerning the plans, activities and 
intentions of foreign powers and their agents is critical to protect the 
nation and preserve our security," Mr McConnell told the House Judiciary 
Committee.

Defending powers

Wire tapping without a warrant has been a contentious issue since the US 
Congress passed new anti-terror laws in August.

	China and Russia's foreign intelligence services are among the most 
aggressive in collecting against sensitive and protected US systems... 
Their efforts are approaching Cold War levels.
Michael McConnell
US Director of National Intelligence

The Protect America Act allows the government to eavesdrop on foreign 
communications, even if the recipient is a person living in the US.

These powers are due to expire in January unless Congress extends them.

The White House wants them made permanent.

But opponents - including civil liberties groups - say an extension 
could erode privacy rights and give the government unrestricted power to 
spy on its own citizens.

Mr McConnell told Congress the powers were crucial to preserving 
national security.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7001856.stm

Published: 2007/09/18 21:08:23 GMT

© BBC MMVII
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