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Hayden defends eavesdropping
18/05/2006 20:46 - (SA)
Washington - General Michael Hayden, US
President George W Bush's nominee for CIA director, strongly
defended a domestic eavesdropping programme on Thursday, saying
it was vital to protect the country against terrorism and did
not violate Americans' civil rights.
Facing questions in the senate about his role as architect of Bush's domestic spying
programme, Hayden said it was narrowly targeted to suspected
terrorists, closely supervised and regularly reviewed.
"We have a very strong oversight regime," Hayden said.
"Targeting decisions are made by people in the US government
most knowledgeable about al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda communications,
tactics and procedures.
"There is a probable cause standard. Every targeting is
documented," he said. "No one has said there has been a
targeting decision made that hasn't been well-founded."
Under the eavesdropping programme, the national security
agency monitors telephone calls and e-mails originating abroad
to or from suspected terrorists without first obtaining a court
order.
Bush nominated Hayden to
replace Porter Goss, who was forced to resign as CIA director
this month after clashing with US intelligence chief John
Negroponte over the US spy agency's future.
The full senate must vote to confirm Hayden as CIA
director. As head of the NSA, Hayden crafted and implemented the
warrantless eavesdropping programme that remained secret until it
was leaked to the media late last year.
Critics have questioned the programme's legality and said
Bush may have overstepped his constitutional powers in
authorising it.
Another report in USA Today last week, neither confirmed
nor denied by the administration, revealed the NSA had amassed
a giant database on the telephone calling patterns of millions
of Americans.
- Reuters
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