WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into leaks to the media about the National Security Agency’s classified domestic surveillance program.

The program authorizes the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans without first seeking permission from a court for a search warrant. It has caused a political uproar with both Democrats and Republicans questioning whether President Bush went beyond his powers under the U.S. Constitution in authorizing it.

The New York Times was the first to report the story on December 16th and then officials confirmed its existence to CNN and other organizations.

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — At least eight people were killed in a firefight at an Iraqi military base in northern Baghdad after a prisoner grabbed a guard’s weapon and opened fire on Wednesday morning.

A police official said four guards and four prisoners were among the dead. Three prisoners and two guards were also wounded.

The prisoner grabbed the guard’s weapon during morning exercises. No prisoners escaped during the resulting firefight with guards.

The al Addala base in Baghdad’s Khadimiya neighborhood houses suspects accused of major crimes, including terrorism. Iraqis and foreign nationals are being held at the base.

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Last month, Republican Congressional leaders filed into the Oval Office to meet with President George W. Bush and talk about renewing the controversial USA Patriot Act.

Several provisions of the act, passed in the shell shocked period immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, caused enough anger that liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union had joined forces with prominent conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly and Bob Barr to oppose renewal.

GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

“I don’t give a goddamn,” Bush retorted. “I’m the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.”

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There is nothig earth shattering or even NEW in the disclosure of the existence of ECHELON. Pretending that reporting on ECHELON somehow lets terrorists know of it’s existence is completely laughable. The ONLY new item that was brought to light is that the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which establishes a legal regime for "foreign intelligence" surveillance separate from ordinary law enforcement surveillance. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95- 511, 92 Stat. 1783 [codified as amended at 50 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1811, 1821-1829, 1841-1846, 1861-62].)  was being used outside of the bounds drawn up for it, meaning without the required warrant, that as it stands, can be requested up to 72 hours AFTER the surveillance is enacted. That provision somehow seems to fly in the face of the statement that GW Bush has made saying that the surveillance was carried out without a warrant because there was no time to OBTAIN that warrant. Additionally, GW Bush also ignored the FISA requirement that information concerning the surveillance be submitted to the house and senate intelligence committees.  (electronic surveillance must be certified by the Attorney General and then noticed to the Senate and House intelligence committees. § 1802(a)(2). A copy of the certification must be filed with the FISC, where it remains sealed unless (a) an application for a warrant with respect to it is filed, or (b) the legality of the surveillance is challenged in another federal district court under § 1806(f). § 1802(a)(3). Common carriers must assist in the surveillance and maintain its secrecy. § 1802(a)(4). )

For more on the history of ECHELON  click "read More" 

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CNN — President Bush’s approval ratings do not appear to have changed significantly, despite a number of recent speeches he’s given to shore up public support for the war in Iraq and its historic elections on Thursday.

A CNN/USA Today Gallup poll conducted over the weekend found his approval rating stood at 41 percent, while more than half, or 56 percent, disapprove of how the president is handling his job. A majority, or 52 percent, say it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq, and 61 percent say they disapprove of how he is handling Iraq specifically. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The poll interviews were conducted before President Bush’s Oval Office address, which was broadcast on primetime television Sunday. (Read what he said.)

Although half of those surveyed considered Iraq’s first full-term parliamentary election since the ouster of Saddam Hussein either a major or key step toward the U.S. achieving its goals in Iraq, only 40 percent felt the U.S. was winning the war. Half said that neither side was winning. (View poll results)

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(CNN) — President Bush defended Monday a secretive program that eavesdrops on some international phone calls involving U.S. citizens, saying the United States must be "quick to detect and prevent" possible near-term terrorist attacks.

At an end-of-the-year news conference, Bush spent much of his time answering questions about the program, which bypasses the normal procedure of attaining a court warrant and is designed to intercept communications between suspected terrorists in the United States and other countries.

Both Democrats and Republicans have questioned the legality of the program and some lawmakers have called for an independent investigation or congressional hearings.

Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who appeared on several network morning shows, said technological advances used by terrorists made it necessary to conduct the surveillance without a court order.

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New! Get the latest messages on Echelon: Big Brother Is Watching You emailed to you with Google Alerts.

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Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 22:11:02 -0600 (CST)
From: Doron Tal
Organization: The Turkel Tribe http://Turkel.areCool.net/
Subject: Echelon: Big Brother Is Watching You
Article: 82206
Message-ID:

Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 17:58:54 -0500
From: TheGolem
Subject: Project Echelon

This should get some attention…  

   George J. Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence (CIA), told Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security [MOIS] (Vezarat-e Ettela’at va Amniat-e Keshvar VEVAK) about Agde (Hérault) frenchelon station : a covert agent sent C4I2 (OTAN Comand, Control, Communications, Computers, Inteligence & Interoperability)`s top secret counterintelligence imagery to Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) !

   Ask 634th Military Intelligence`s contact of Occidental Petroleum greed & sadness & unhappiness Dpt via http://www.mi5.gov.uk/ for Ref. TELINTNRO, GRU, SRIDRM, DST, SDF, CANUSEYESONLY, CANUKUS, AUSCANUKUS, C4I, C3I.

This article is from ’The Register’ a european IT website circa September 14th, 2001.

The European Parliament published its report into the Echelon spying system last week in which it concluded it did exist, was against the law and that the UK had a lot of explaining to do.

We’ve sifted through about 100 of the 194 pages and decided that since no one had yet to officially admit its existence, you may be interested in how the European Parliament decided it was definitely out there.

The report admits from the outset that the existence of Echelon can only be proved by gathering together as many clues as possible so that it remains the only possible explanation. Since we are talking about an extremely secretive spying mechanism run by some of the most secretive (and powerful) organisations in the world, this is the only method at our disposal.

The report used three basic routes to gathering the clues together. One, physical evidence - all the listening stations dotted about the globe. Two, unclassified documents and other bits of information from the military, NSA and other bodies that run the system. And lastly, the testimony of investigative journalists who have concentrated on Echelon - including Duncan Campbell and Nicky Hager - and former employees of the security services.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush on Sunday will give his first speech from the Oval Office since March 2003, when he first announced the war in Iraq, the White House said Friday.

In what a senior administration official called "symmetry," Sunday’s speech will also focus on Iraq.

"That was a key moment, and now, three elections later, we’re at another key moment," the official said.

The speech with begin at 9 p.m. ET and is scheduled to last about 20 minutes.

Bush will cap four recent speeches he has delivered on Iraq as part of the White House effort to bolster support for the war effort, a senior official said. (Transcript from last speech)

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