Hoekstra: Leak Means NSA Program No Longer Effective

[sabra]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,184615,00.html

Hoekstra: Leak Means NSA Program No Longer Effective

WASHINGTON — The House Intelligence Committee chairman on Sunday questioned the value of President Bush's NSA eavesdropping program, saying Al Qaeda undoubtedly has changed its means of communication to avoid Washington's monitoring.

Bush said two weeks ago in his State of the Union address that the program of monitoring calls and e-mail between the United States and suspected terrorist associates overseas "remains essential to the security of America." But Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., suggested that the public disclosure of the program's existence in December in the New York Times has undermined its effectiveness.

"Does anyone really believe that, after 50 days of having this program on the front page of our newspapers, across talk shows across America, that Al Qaeda has not changed the way that it communicates?" Hoekstra said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Since that disclosure, legal scholars and lawmakers from both parties have questioned whether Bush had the authority to conduct the surveillance without a judge's approval.

[acmejack]

1. Then they should stop!

[liveoaktx]

8. VIDEO of him on MTP saying that

Hoekstra

[MichiganVote]

2. Does anyone believe that, after 50 days of having this program,

on the front pages of the papers, that just about everyone has changed the way in which they communicate? Especially politicians?

Right. Only Al Qaeda is effected. Geeezzz...can we get some politicians with brains please?

[bluerum]

3. Yeah - they are using US mail and carrier pigeons now. What a bunch

of hogwash. How exactly, are they supposed to communicate? Passing notes across the globe?

Ooooo,, look at me ,,, I am scared, oooo. :scared:

Honestly, I am much more concerned about my government breaking the law than I am about criminals breaking the law. If they can force our government to become criminals then they truly have won a victory and our leaders have given it to them. :mad:

[Garbo 2004]

4. It wasn't effective before it was in the news. And while the American

was sleepily unaware of what the gov't was up to, AQ long ago no doubt assumed electronic communications were not secure and responded accordingly.

Hoekstra's just perpetuating the Bush myth regarding the necessity and effectiveness of what he was up to. And they still don't explain why the Bush Administration authorized this surveillance when he first came into office, prior to 9-11. Bush wasn't interested in Bin Laden and AQ then; he and Cheney dismissed the Clinton Administration's conern with AQ and terrorism as a paranoid obsession. They weren't paying attention to the FBI's and CIA's concerns regarding AQ and terrorism. So why and on whom was Bush authorizing this surveillance prior to 9-11?

[Karmakaze]

10. Another point in regards to when the wiretapping started...

As you say it was first authorised before Sept 11 - so, if it was so effective, and thus worth breaching the Constitution over, how come Sept 11 happened?

[truthisfreedom]

5. who gives a flying hootie-hoo if it's effective? IT'S ILLEGAL, IMMORAL,

AND UNAMERICAN, YOU GOOF.

[rodeodance]

6. recall that it was Bush himself who confirmed its existance.

[rodeodance]

7. "Does anyone really believe that, ..terrorists do not think we are monitor

ing them??--stupid.

[HereSince1628]

9. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah! THAT is funny

Unless they contracted the work out to the Mossad or the GRU the NSA is NEVER going to give up on attempts to collect data.

[Solly Mack]

11. and if Shrub was spying on "Al Qaeda " , further spying would be pointless

but since he's spying on Americans, he needs the "terrorists" excuse

[reprobate]

12. Mistake #1. Al Quaida was invented by Justice Dept, FBI---Link:

BBC video

[tanyev]

13. Aha! The way out.

They will announce that the program has been discontinued because it is ineffective, not because it is illegal or unconstitutional. Program may be quietly resumed after all the hubbub has died down.

[moondust]

14. Yeah right.

The guys who beat Mr. Hoekstra's multi-trillion dollar gov't with a few box cutters would never imagine that their electronic communications might be bugged. Nah...

Incidentally, if OBL hadn't imagined the likelihood of eavesdropping then why didn't NSA simply listen in on his communications in Afghanistan and send a posse out to grab him? That was long before the big leak. Eh?