Bush Defends Secret Program

The President used his weekly radio address to justify the secret program which allowed the NSA to spy on US citizens and foreign nationals without a warrant. He also added that revelation of the secret program has hurt US security.

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al-Qaida and related terrorist organizations.

Before we intercept these communications, the government must have information that establishes a clear link to these terrorist networks. This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies.

Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.

As the 9/11 commission pointed out, it was clear that terrorists inside the United States were communicating with terrorists abroad before the September the 11th attacks, and the commission criticized our nation's inability to uncover links between terrorists here at home and terrorists abroad.

[…]

This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power under our laws and Constitution to protect them and their civil liberties. And that is exactly what I will continue to do, so long as I'm the president of the United States.

So it was the media that broke the law by revealing this classified program, not his administration by authorizing it. But hey—even if they did, it’s the 9/11 commission’s fault for criticizing their ability to uncover terrorist activity. Just a thought here, but maybe paying attention to briefs with titles like “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US” was a better start than a criminal enterprise to illegally eavesdrop.

As for his doing everything in his power under the laws…yeah, not so much.

(Crossposted at Political Animal.)