A Few Questions about NSA Spying

[blogslut]

Dubya and Co. tell us that they're only tapping the calls of people in America that are speaking to members of Al Qaeda. Here's what I want to know:

1) How does the administration know people are chatting with Al Qaeda on the phone?

2) Is the administration bugging Al Qaeda member's phones?

3) If they're bugging Al Qaeda, then doesn't that mean the administration knows where Al Qaeda members are physically located?

4) If the administration knows where Al Qaeda members are physically located, why don't they go get them?

[AIJ Alom]

1. Actually the echelon system is designed to look for keywords during

conversations. Maybe of a particular language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON

[blogslut]

2. yes but

I thought the nsa thing had to do with tapping phone lines

[blogslut]

3. ok...

Echelon listens for words in phone convos. However, that doesn't explain how the administration can claim these Americans are talking to Al Qaeda members specifically

[TheWraith]

5. Realistically, they can't.

They can listen to specific numbers, which they claim come from reliable intelligence (no doubt the same reliable intelligence that gave us reports of terrorists with biotoxins disguised as perfume), but they can't have any real assurance that these numbers are actually connected to terrorists. These numbers allegedly come from cell phones and laptops found in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but knowing how honest these people are, I'd tend to doubt it.

The much more probable method, and what it's been reported that they use, is computerized scanning of ALL calls going in or out of the US, which is a much broader thing. They tap into the big telecommunication trunks and check everything moving over the border, probably recording anything which triggered a hit on a variety of words or word combinations. For instance, if you happened to call somebody in London, and you used words which--while innocuous to you--the NSA views as potential codewords, then your conversation might be recorded.

[blogslut]

8. Hey, I know they're blowing smoke up our asses

However, this is what president crackbaby said at K-State this week:

"This is a -- I repeat to you, even though you hear words, "domestic spying," these are not phone calls within the United States. It's a phone call of an al Qaeda, known al Qaeda suspect, making a phone call into the United States."

My belief is they use this as the stock explanation because if they had to explain the process in detail, they would reveal their crime. If we blow holes in their simplistic explanation with questions similar to the ones in my original questions, we might tip their hand...:think:

[AIJ Alom]

4. Echelon is used to tap phone lines as well as every other form

of electronic communication. It is like a huge filter. It is not a violation to tap into and provide the data for further research to hunt down terrorists, but it is a crime to spy on fellow Americans just because they do not agree with the current government's policy.

[TheWraith]

6. Actually, it may be a violation depending on who's targeted.

Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveilance Act, it's illegal to spy on a "U.S. person" without a warrant. A "U.S. person" is defined as a citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident. So if a US citizen's phone calls were intercepted without a warrant, it would still be illegal even if that person were having lunch with Osama Bin Laden. Of course, you'd have two weeks in which to go to the secret FISA court and obtain a warrant *after* you intercepted the conversation, assuming that you had probable cause. Getting the warrant would make it legal.

[rfkrfk]

11. anybody can listen to a radio signal

if you don't want everyone in the universe listening,
don't use a public carrier, or use PGP

if the NSA is prohibited from listening,
your privacy will be vastly IMPROVED -->

instead of 180 countries listening,
it will be only 179 countries listening

edited for spelliing.

[EFerrari]

7. They must be using the wrong key words because all they

seem to turn up are Bush critics -- Quakers, vegans, peace grannies.

Either the Cabal is the stupidest bunch of people ever born or, we are for believing anything that comes out of their mouths.

[leftstreet]

9. BOMB ANTHRAX TERROR USAMA AL QAEDA JEFF GANNON

They should be here any minute.
If they're all that.

[EFerrari]

12. I emailed a large audio file to a buddy in Amsterdam. It was

Doug's cd and one of the sets is political.

Lol! We're on the list. :)

[Justice Is Comin]

10. I would add a number 5.

If he has the unbridled right to select whoever he chooses to listen to and no one could possibly know, does anybody with a stem cell in their brain think he's listening only to al Quida ? Pu-lease.

He's probably layed on his bed with his feet up and listened to Patrick Fitzgerald already. I would bet anything on it. THAT'S what the stupid half of America still has to get their head around. People who can't grasp this don't even have the IQ to qualify as mental patients if they can't understand that.

If nobody knows, how's anybody going to know? It's the plan made in heaven. Makes me just want to grab people and shake em.

Nixon didn't break into his OWN headquarters.