Intel (not our favorate chip person :-) ) czar told Congress electronic-surveillance law helped bring down a terror plot. The facts say otherwise.

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ibd com>
Date: September 13, 2007 5:06:02 PM EDT
To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>, David Farber  
<dfarber () cs cmu edu>
Subject: Intel czar told Congress electronic-surveillance law helped  
bring down a terror plot. The facts say otherwise.

Spy Master Admits Error
Intel czar Mike McConnell told Congress a new law helped bring down a  
terror plot. The facts say otherwise.
WEB EXCLUSIVE By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball Newsweek Updated:  
3:38 p.m. PT Sept 12, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20749773/site/newsweek/

Sept. 12, 2007 - In a new embarrassment for the Bush administration's  
top spymaster, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell is  
withdrawing an assertion he made to Congress this week that a  
recently passed electronic-surveillance law helped U.S. authorities  
foil a major terror plot in Germany.

The temporary measure, signed into law by President Bush on Aug. 5,  
gave the U.S. intelligence community broad new powers to eavesdrop on  
telephone and e-mail communications overseas without seeking warrants  
from the surveillance court. The law expires in six months and is  
expected to be the subject of intense debate in the months ahead. On  
Monday, McConnell—questioned by Sen. Joe Lieberman—claimed the law,  
intended to remedy what the White House said was an intelligence gap,  
had helped to “facilitate” the arrest of three suspects believed to  
be planning massive car bombings against American targets in Germany.  
Other U.S. intelligence-community officials questioned the accuracy  
of McConnell's testimony and urged his office to correct it. Four  
intelligence-community officials, who asked for anonymity discussing  
sensitive material, said the new law, dubbed the "Protect America  
Act,” played little if any role in the unraveling of the German plot.  
The U.S. military initially provided information that helped the  
Germans uncover the plot. But that exchange of information took place  
months before the new “Protect America” law was passed.

After questions about his testimony were raised, McConnell called  
Lieberman to clarify his statements to the Senate Committee on  
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, an official said. (A  
spokeswoman for Lieberman confirmed that McConnell called the senator  
Tuesday but could not immediately confirm what they spoke about.)  
Late Wednesday afternoon, McConnell issued a statement acknowledging  
that "information contributing to the recent arrests [in Germany] was  
not collected under authorities provided by the 'Protect America Act'."

The developments were cited by Democratic critics on Capitol Hill as  
the latest example of the Bush administration's exaggerated claims— 
and contradictory statements—about ultrasecret surveillance  
activities. In the face of such complaints, the administration has  
consistently resisted any public disclosure about the details of the  
surveillance activities—even though McConnell himself has openly  
talked about some aspects of them.

<snip>
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Robert J. Berger - Internet Bandwidth Development, LLC.
Voice: 408-882-4755 eFax: +1-408-490-2868
http://www.ibd.com




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