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== Notes == |
== Notes == |
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Revision as of 11:40, 13 May 2006
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The NSA call database is a database of telephone calls created by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) with the cooperation of three of the largest telephone carriers in the United States: AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth.[1] The database contains records provided by companies that have connected nearly 2 trillion telephone calls since late 2001.[2]
The May 10, 2006 USA Today report that broke the story did not elaborate on its sources, but claimed that the only company to refuse to comply was Qwest Communications, citing the need for a warrant. Later, T-Mobile explicitly stated they do not participate in warrant-less surveillance.[3] The database's existence has prompted fierce objections from activists claiming it is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Contents of the database
According to the article, the database is "the largest database ever assembled in the world", and contains the phone numbers of the callers and recipients along with times for all calls, domestic and international. While the database does not contain specific names or addresses, that information is widely available from non-classified sources.
Uses for the database
Such a database is ineffective on its own as a tool for national security. However, as an element of a broader data mining effort, the database could be invaluable. Such an effort has been the focus of the NSA's recent attempts to acquire key technologies from high tech firms in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Link analysis software, such as the Analyst's Notebook, is used by law enforcement to organize and view links that are demonstrated through such information as telephone and financial records, which are imported into the program from other sources.[4] Neural network software is used to detect patterns, classify and cluster data as well as forecast future events.[5]
Government response
The Bush administration was quick to defend the program. In response to the USA Today story, the deputy White House Press Secretary said, "The intelligence activities undertaken by the United States government are lawful, necessary and required to protect Americans from terrorist attacks."
Senator Arlen Specter has said that he will hold hearings with the telecommunications CEOs involved. The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to question Air Force General Michael Hayden about the data-gathering during his confirmation hearings as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Hayden was in charge of the NSA from 1999 through 2005.[6]
Additional political reaction
Commenting on the apparent incompatibility of the NSA call database with previous assurances by President Bush, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told Fox News, "I’m not going to defend the indefensible. The Bush administration has an obligation to level with the American people... I don’t think the way they’ve handled this can be defended by reasonable people." [7]
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News, "The idea of collecting millions or thousands of phone numbers, how does that fit into following the enemy?" [8]
House Republican Caucus chairwoman Deborah Pryce said, "While I support aggressively tracking al-Qaida, the administration needs to answer some tough questions about the protection of our civil liberties." [9]
Current Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner said, "I am concerned about what I read with regard to NSA databases of phone calls."[9]
Democratic senator Patrick Leahy, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said "Are you telling me that tens of millions of Americans are involved with al-Qaida? These are tens of millions of Americans who are not suspected of anything. ... Where does it stop?"[9]
Public reaction
According to a Washington Post telephone poll of 502 people, conducted on May 11, 63% of the American public supports the program, 35% do not; 66% were not bothered by the idea of the NSA having a record of their calls, while 34% were; 56% however thought it was right for the knowledge of the program to be released while 42% thought it was not. [10] A similar poll on CNN found that 25% of respondants felt safer as a result of the NSA database while 75% felt it was "creepy". [11]
Future action
The Senate Armed Services Committee was scheduled to hold hearings with Russell Tice the week following the revelation of the NSA call database. Tice indicated that his testimony would reveal information on additional illegal activity related to the NSA call database that has not yet been made public, and that some NSA employees believe what they are doing is illegal. Tice also told the National Journal that he "will not confirm or deny" if his testimony will include information on space-based spy satellites being used to spy on American citizens. [12]
See also
Notes
- ^ NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls, USA Today
- ^ Data on Phone Calls Monitored, The Washington Post
- ^ Callers Can't Hide, Forbes
- ^ Taking Spying to Higher Level, Agencies Look for More Ways to Mine Data, New York Times
- ^ [1] (PDF file)
- ^ Specter Demands Phone Companies Testify on Database (Update1), Bloomberg
- ^ Gingrich on NSA Phone Records Program: Administration’s Conduct Can’t ‘Be Defended By Reasonable People’, Think Progress
- ^ Bush Doesn't Confirm NSA Data Collection, AP/Yahoo!, May 11, 2006
- ^ a b c Quotes About the NSA Collecting Data, AP/Yahoo!, May 11, 2006
- ^ Washington Post-ABC News Poll, Washington Post, May 12, 2006
- ^ CNN Poll: How does the report that the NSA is building a database of Americans' phone calls make you feel?, CNN.com, May 11, 2006
- ^ NSA Whistleblower To Expose More Unlawful Activity: ‘People…Are Going To Be Shocked’, Think Progress
External links
- NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls, USA Today (original reporting of NSA call database)
- AT&T, Verizon readily break their own rules, San Francisco Chronicle
- NSA Call-Record Data Mining No Surprise to Security Experts Fox News
- President Bush's press conference following disclosure U.S. White House