Tens of millions of Americans are Al Qaida operatives

Jersay

House Member
Dec 1, 2005
4,837
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Independent Palestine
WASHINGTON (AP) - Telecommunications giant Qwest refused to provide the government with access to telephone records of its 15 million customers after deciding the request violated privacy law, a lawyer for a former company executive said Friday. For a second day, the former National Security Agency director defended the spy agency's activities.

In a written statement, the lawyer for former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio said the government approached the company in the fall of 2001 seeking access to the phone records of Qwest customers, with neither a warrant nor approval from a special court established to handle surveillance matters.

"Mr. Nacchio concluded that these requests violated the privacy requirements of the Telecommunications Act," lawyer Herbert Stern said from his Newark, N.J., office.

The Bush administration is facing new questions about civil liberties after the disclosure that the NSA collected information on millions of Americans' everyday telephone calls.

On Friday, CIA director nominee Michael Hayden defended as lawful the secret surveillance programs he oversaw as NSA head from 1999 to 2005, but he declined to comment on the phone-calls database or specific operations.

"It's been briefed to the appropriate members of Congress," Hayden told reporters outside a Senate office. "The only purpose of the agency's activities is to preserve the security and the liberty of the American people. And I think we've done that."

Nacchio told Qwest officials to refuse the NSA requests, which kept coming until Nacchio left the company in June 2002, his lawyer said.

In contrast, AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. complied with the request to turn over phone records shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, USA Today first reported on Thursday.

Qwest, the No. 4 U.S. local phone company, serves customers in 14 Western states. Based in Denver, Qwest Communications International Inc. has come under fire over criminal and ethical allegations. Nacchio himself is under federal indictment on insider-trading charges.

In a statement, Verizon said press coverage has contained errors about how the company handles customer information. "Verizon will provide customer information to a government agency only where authorized by law for appropriately defined and focused purposes," the company said.

Two New Jersey public interest lawyers sued Verizon on Friday for $5 billion US, claiming the phone carrier violated privacy laws by turning over customers' records. The lawsuit asks the court to stop Verizon from supplying the information without a warrant or the subscriber's consent.

Legislators have been pressing the Bush administration for information about the NSA's database of telephone records in advance of hearings reviewing Hayden's nomination to be CIA director, scheduled for next Thursday.

The White House on Friday reiterated its support for Hayden and the NSA's operations.

"We're 100 per cent behind Michael Hayden," said press secretary Tony Snow. "There's no question about that, and confident that he is going to comport himself well and answer all the questions and concerns that members of the United States Senate may have in the process of confirmation."

Some senators were trying to separate the issue of Hayden's confirmation from questions about White House decisions and the surveillance programs.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev.), said he didn't yet know if collection of the phone records was illegal.

Yet Reid said he has no "specific problems" with Hayden going into the hearing process and said the Air Force general "has always proven to be a person of intellect and a person of independence."

But Senator Ron Wyden, (D-Ore.), an Intelligence Committee member, said he now questions Hayden's credibility, adding, "The American people have got to know that when the person who heads the CIA makes a statement that they are getting the full picture."

The NSA was using the data to analyze calling patterns to detect and track suspected terrorist activity, according to information the White House gave to Senator Wayne Allard, (R-Colo). "Telephone customers' names, addresses and other personal information have not been handed over to NSA as part of this program," Allard said.

Senator Susan Collins, (R-Maine), praised Hayden as an excellent nominee. But the chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said it was disconcerting "to have information come out by drips and drabs, rather than the administration making the case for programs I personally believe are needed for our national security."

http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/WorldNewsArticle.htm?src=w051275A.xml
 

darkbeaver

the universe is electric
Jan 26, 2006
41,035
201
63
RR1 Distopia 666 Discordia
RE: Tens of millions of A

There all over the place Jersay, them Al-kayda operatives. I think they must be trying to tie up all the phone lines in America, those dirty basturds, we should all throw away our cell-phones and tear our cable and phone lines off the side of our houses, this would stop the plotting terrorists from taking over the country. I wonder what thier really listening for. I mean what are the CIA and NSA and MGM and Meye5 M6teen really up two?
 

Jersay

House Member
Dec 1, 2005
4,837
2
38
Independent Palestine
:lol:

Good idea.

I wonder if they are listening to Canadians as well, the NSA looks into Canadian e-mail and internet access and since the companies are multi-national, I wonder.
 

Riyko

Electoral Member
Apr 29, 2006
497
1
18
Oakville, Ontario
Now the US is having it's own battles inside the country with the phone company and it's records. The government can check my familys phone records all they'll see is calls to Montana, Washington State and California. If they check mine they'll see calls to Alaska, Arizona, California, Texas and Oakville, Ontario.

I think bush just wants to use it as a reason to spy on the citizens of the United States because he's afraid of what's going on in his own country and what people are planning. He's afraid of his own country.
 

Jersay

House Member
Dec 1, 2005
4,837
2
38
Independent Palestine
By god. We have a winner. Riyko I must congradulation you, you are one of the smartest Americans I've met because you have figured out Bush. All this war on terror, is nice and all, but he wants or maybe not him personally but the government wants to monitor Americans, like back in the McCarthy era.
 

Nuggler

kind and gentle
Feb 27, 2006
11,596
140
63
Backwater, Ontario.
:? Only a psychopathic dictator attempts to spy on his own people.
Russia was famous for the KGB
Nazis had the Gestapo
Argentina had the secret police and the "Naval Acadamy"

Canada has CSIS and Red Ryders on horsies.

US has gawd knows whut. 8O

Do we feel safer now :?:

Have we reached the point where one of our American brothers writes a nasty e.mail about Curious George, and then finds himself audited by the IRS...........no connection of course!

We live in "interesting times". Ask a Chinese friend what that means.

Ugg :idea:
 

Johnny Utah

Council Member
Mar 11, 2006
1,434
1
38
This story was only released to damage Gen Hayden's chances of confirmation to be the next CIA Director or it would have sat idle for an opportunity to damage President Bush.

The MSM released classified information on NSA Surveillance Tactics "again" causing more damage to National Security "again" sabatoing the War on Terrorism "again" all for raitings, fear mongering and political points..

Hypothetical:I'm a member of an Al Qaeda Sleeper cell within the United States. The MSM has again provided myself and my fellow members with Classified information on how United States Intelligence Agencies searches for us. This newly released information makes our job of planning Terrorist strikes more easier as it has made us cautious when trying to contact our leaders outside the United States. Thankyou MSM..

Does loose lips sink ships mean anything to anyone anymore?

:angry7: :confused1: :confused2: :roll:

Tens of millions of Americans are Al Qaida operatives
The Headline is bias as it's not the same Headline in the article..

CIA director nominee Michael Hayden defends domestic surveillance programs
This is the Headline in the Article. If you can't keep the Headline as the same as the article without making you're own what's the point of posting it? It only shows how Bias you are to being with..
:roll:
 

Jersay

House Member
Dec 1, 2005
4,837
2
38
Independent Palestine
Biased to what??

If you are doing a domestic spying agengy, looking at everyone's phone records, you are spying on Americans' so they must be Al Qaida operatives.

And with loose lips sink ships? That means if you dissent in anyway to government policy, you are a traitor. Look at the history of the saying when it was used in Britain during WWI. They didn't want soldiers to tell what it was really like on the front lines in the trenches because if they had been able to tell the people what was occuring the war would have ended in a snap.

When someone says the statement, "Loose lips sink ships". Is biased in his or her own way?
 

missile

House Member
Dec 1, 2004
4,846
17
38
Saint John N.B.
This is just the Hi Tech version of what Hoover was doing for Nixon..building up files on potential political enemies of Bush and Co. And, it's wrong,immoral and illegal..probably impeachable,too.