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Terrorist Surveillance Program is the name used by the Bush administration to describe a signals intelligence program implemented by the United States government in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, allegedly targeted at al Qaeda communications coming into or going out of the United States as part of the broader war on terrorism. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy is a dispute questioning the power of the United States President to authorize the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct electronic surveillance secretly and without court authorization. ... SIGINT stands for SIGnals INTelligence, which is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether by radio interception or other means. ... The explosion resulting from the crashing of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. ... Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda, in the 1990s. ... The War on Terrorism or War on Terror is a campaign by the United States government and some of its allies with the stated goal of ending international terrorism by stopping those groups identified by the U.S. as terrorist groups and ending state sponsorship of terrorism. ...

Description

The complete details of this authorization are not fully known, as the Bush administration contends that security concerns do not allow it to release details. While no specific information has been offered, the administration has indicated that this program targets communications where at least one party is outside the United States, and where it asserts that there are reasonable grounds to believe that one or more parties involved in the communication have ties to al Qaeda. However, a small number of instances where domestic calls (entirely inside the United States) were intercepted have come to light.^[1] These cases were apparently errors, and are outside the alleged parameters of the program. Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda, in the 1990s. ...

Implemented by the President sometime after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the program was not made public at the time. However, the President has stated that he has reviewed and reauthorized the program approximately every 45 days since it was implemented. The Republican leadership of the Intelligence Committees of both the House and Senate were briefed a number of times since initiation of the program. ^[2] They were not, however, allowed to make notes or confer with others to determine the legal ramifications, or even to mention the existence of the program to the full membership of the Intelligence Committees. The explosion resulting from the crashing of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. ... The World Trade Center in New York City (sometimes informally referred to as the WTC or the Twin Towers) was a complex of seven buildings, mostly designed by Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki and developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. ... In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. ... A Congressional committee in the parlance of the United States Congress and politics of the United States is a legislative sub-organization that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress, making necessary and proper laws). ... The chamber of the United States House of Representatives is located in the south wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D.C.. This photograph shows a rare glimpse of the four vote tallying boards (the blackish squares across the top), which display each members name and vote as... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ...

Legality of the program

Main article: NSA warrantless surveillance controversy

For historical comparison, past Presidents have authorized surveillance of communications including domestic parties during armed conflict - from Civil War-era monitoring of telegrams and Franklin Roosevelt's World War II activities to Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War(i.e. Operation Shamrock, and Operation Minaret). Concern over abuse using these later activities led to the adoption of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy is a dispute questioning the power of the United States President to authorize the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct electronic surveillance secretly and without court authorization. ... Combatants Union (remaining U.S. states) Confederate States of America Commanders Abraham Lincoln† Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties KIA: 110,000 Total dead: 360,000 Wounded: 275,200 KIA: 94,000 Total dead: 258,000 Wounded: 137,000+  The... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), often referred to as FDR, was the 32nd (1933–1945) President of the United States. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... Project SHAMROCK, considered to be the sister project for Project MINARET, was an espionage exercise that involved the accumulation of all telegraphic data entering into or exiting from the United States. ... Project MINARET was a sister project to Project SHAMROCK coordinated by the NSA, CIA, and FBI. It involved the usage of watch lists to oversee subversive domestic activities. ... The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence information between or among foreign powers. FISA is codified in 50 U.S.C. §§1801-1811, 1821-29, 1841-46, and 1861-62. ...

Controversy

Main article: NSA warrantless surveillance controversy

When classified details were leaked to the press at some point in 2005, many commentators, including Arlen Specter (R-PA), began to question the legality of the program. The crux of the debate is twofold, the main issues being: The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy is a dispute questioning the power of the United States President to authorize the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct electronic surveillance secretly and without court authorization. ... Arlen Specter (born February 12, 1930) is a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. ... The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy is a dispute questioning the power of the United States President to authorize the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct electronic surveillance secretly and without court authorization. ...

1. Are the parameters of this program subject to FISA and
2. if so, did the president have authority, inherent or otherwise, to bypass FISA.

Although debate continues, mainly sponsored by members of the Democratic Party, every federal appellate court to rule on the question has affirmed the President’s inherent constitutional authority (based on the Fourth Amendment and Congressional authorization for the use of Military Force) to conduct such signals intelligence programs^[3]. The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other one being the Republican Party. ...

The American Bar Association, the Congressional Research Service, Elizabeth Holtzman, John Dean, Jennifer van Bergen, on the other hand, criticize the administration's justification for conducting electronic surveillance within the US without first obtaining warrants as contrary to current U.S. law. ^{[4] [5] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]} David Kris and five former FISC judges, one of whom resigned in protest, have also voiced their doubts as to the legality of a program bypassing FISA.^{[10] [11]} American Bar Associations Washington, DC office The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. ... The Congressional Research Service is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. ... Elizabeth Holtzman (born August 11, 1941) is an American Democratic politician. ... John Dean, May 7, 1972. ... David S. Kris was the Assistant Deputy Attorney General for national security issues in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2000 to 2003. ... The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (or FISC) is a U.S. federal court authorized under 50 USC 1803 and established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (known as FISA for short). ...

References

1. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/21/politics/21nsa.html?ex=1292821200&en=91d434311b0a7ddc&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
2. ^ http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2006/ag_speech_060206.html Statement of Hon. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General, February 6, 2006
3. ^ FISAing Words, Former Clinton Associate Attorney General John Schmidt asserting legality of Terrorist Surveillance Program, writing in Chicago Tribune December 21, 2005
4. ^ The Impeachment of George W. Bush by Elizabeth Holtzman, The Nation, January 11, 2006
5. ^ ^a b An Update on President Bush's NSA Program: The Historical Context, Specter's Recent Bill and Feingold's Censure Motion By John W. Dean, FindLaw, March 24, 2006
6. ^ Time for a Special Prosecutor Bush's NSA Spying Program Violates the Law By JENNIFER VAN BERGEN, CounterPunch, March 4 / 5, 2006
7. ^
   • Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information January 5, 2006
   • Statutory Procedures Under Which Congress Is To Be Informed of U.S. Intelligence Activities, Including Covert Actions January 18, 2006
8. ^ AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES, February 13, 2006
9. ^ Lawyers Group Criticizes Surveillance Program Washington Post, February 14, 2006
10. ^ Legal Rationale for Spy Program Questioned By PETE YOST
11. ^
    • Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program By ERIC LICHTBLAU, The New York Times, March 29, 2006
    • It’s Official… By Christy Hardin Smith, March 28th, 2006

Elizabeth Holtzman (born August 11, 1941) is an American Democratic politician. ... The Nation is the name of several newspapers, periodicals or magazines in different countries, including: The Nation, an Irish Nationalist newspaper founded by Thomas Davis and Charles Gavan Duffy in the 1840s. ... John Dean, May 7, 1972. ... FindLaw is a legal resource website owned by the Thomson Corporation. ... Counterpunch can refer to: In traditional typography, a counterpunch is a type of punch used to create the negative space in or around a character. ... ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

External Links

• WhiteHouse.gov: Setting the Record Straight
• thewall.civiblog.org: Congressional Research Service - Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information by Elizabeth B. Bazan and Jennifer K. Elsea, January 5 2006 (HTML)
• thewall.civiblog.org: Congressional Research Service - Statutory Procedures Under Which Congress Is To Be Informed of U.S. Intelligence Activities, Including Covert Actions by Alfred Cumming, January 18 2006 (HTML)
• thewall.civiblog.org: EFF Class Action Complaint (Initial Filing) against AT&T (HTML)
• thewall.civiblog.org: ACLU Complaint (Initial Filing) against the NSA Central Security Serice and Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander (HTML)