New Report Gives Insight Into Bush’s Secret Surveillance Program

By Gilbert Mercier, NEWS  JUNKIE  POST

The new report was released yesterday, it appears that the controversial wiretapping program put in place by the Bush administration was a lot more extensive than previously acknowledged.

The report was put together by a team of 5 Federal Inspectors, it mentions an “unprecedented collection activities” by intelligence agencies under the authority of a Bush’s executive order signed right after 9/11/2001.

Aspects of the President’s Surveillance Program (PSP) were first disclosed publicly in a series of articles published in The New-York Times in December 2005. Afterward, former AG Gonzales was questioned about NSA’s surveillance activities in two public hearings before the Senate in February 2006 & July 2007. It appears that AG Gonzales made false, inaccurate or misleading statements to Congress related to the President’s Surveillance Program during those hearings. The report’s revelation could have, if nothing else. serious legal consequences for Gonzales.

We did not get to the bottom of this yet, the report only reveals the tip of the iceberg on the surveillance program as most activities concerning Bush’s surveillance program remain classified.

In the light of the new report concerning the PSP, the memo prepared by the Bush administration’s DOJ on January 27, 2006, in an obvious effort to diffuse the negative political impact of the late 2005 New-York Times articles, has an even more surreal connotation. The title of the memo was: ” The NSA Program to Detect and Prevent Terrorist Attacks, Myth Versus Reality”. Of course this is the “reality” according to the Bush administration.

From the Bush administration’s DOJ memo:

“1-Myth: The NSA program is illegal. / Reality: The President’s authority to authorize the terrorist surveillance program is firmly based both in his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief, and in the authorization  for use of military force passed by Congress after 9/11/2001.

2-Myth: The NSA program is a domestic eavesdropping program used to spy on innocent Americans/ Reality: The NSA program is narrowly focused and aimed only at international calls and targeted at Al Qaeda and related groups. Safeguards are in place to protect the civil liberties of ordinary Americans.”