When entrusted with power, let's see what the Republicans
have done with it. Let's get the true flavor of what
they're REALLY all about.

All the while Bush claims that the "terrorists" hate Americans
because they hate our "freedom" - the same freedom we
intend to impose upon Iraq.

And what does Condoleezza Rice have to say?

 "I'm not going to comment on intelligence matters,"

Ah, can't you just SMELL the "freedom"???

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10488458/

Updated: 7:58 a.m. ET Dec. 16, 2005

Bush authorized NSA to spy on Americans
Agency has monitored hundreds within U.S. since 9/11

Agency said to have spied on U.S. residents

Dec. 16: The New York Times is reporting that the National
Security Agency eavesdropped on hundreds of people in the
U.S. without warrants. NBC's David Gregory reports.

NEW YORK - The National Security Agency has eavesdropped,
without warrants, on as many 500 people inside the United
States at any given time since 2002, The New York Times
reported Friday.

That year, following the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush
authorized the NSA to monitor the international phone calls
and international e-mails of hundreds - perhaps thousands -
of people inside the United States, the Times reported.

Before the program began, the NSA typically limited its
domestic surveillance to foreign embassies and missions and
obtained court orders for such investigations. Overseas,
5,000 to 7,000 people suspected of terrorist ties are
monitored at one time.

The Times said reporters interviewed nearly a dozen current
and former administration officials about the program and
granted them anonymity because of the classified nature of
the program.

Government officials credited the new program with
uncovering several terrorist plots, including one by Iyman
Faris, an Ohio trucker who pleaded guilty in 2003 to
supporting al-Qaida by planning to destroy the Brooklyn
Bridge, the report said.

But some NSA officials were so concerned about the legality
of the program that they refused to participate, the Times
said. Questions about the legality of the program led the
administration to temporarily suspend it last year and
impose new restrictions.

Rice says Bush acted lawfully

On Friday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked
about the program. "I'm not going to comment on intelligence
matters," she told NBC's "Today" show. But Rice did say that
President Bush "has always said he would do everything he
can to protect the American people, but within the law, and
with due regard for civil liberties because he takes
seriously his responsibility."

"The president acted lawfully in every step that he has
taken," Rice said, "to defend the American people and to
defend the people within his constitutional responsibility."

Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington legislative
office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the
group's initial reaction to the NSA disclosure was "shock
that the administration has gone so far in violating
American civil liberties to the extent where it seems to be
a violation of federal law."

Asked about the administration's contention that the
eavesdropping has disrupted terrorist attacks, Fredrickson
said the ACLU couldn't comment until it sees some evidence.
"They've veiled these powers in secrecy so there's no way
for Congress or any independent organizations to exercise
any oversight."

Is the Pentagon spying on Americans?

NBC report on Pentagon database Earlier this week, the
Pentagon said it was reviewing its use of a classified
database of information about suspicious people and activity
inside the United States after a report by NBC News said the
database listed activities of anti-war groups that were not
a security threat to Pentagon property or personnel.

Pentagon spokesmen declined to discuss the matter on the
record but issued a written statement Wednesday evening that
implied - but did not explicitly acknowledge - that some
information had been handled improperly.

The Bush administration had briefed congressional leaders
about the NSA program and notified the judge in charge of
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the secret
Washington court that handles national security issues.

Aides to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte and
West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on the
Senate Intelligence Committee, declined to comment Thursday
night.

The Times said it delayed publication of the report for a
year because the White House said it could jeopardize
continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that
they might be under scrutiny. The Times said it omitted
information from the story that administration officials
argued could be useful to terrorists.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.