WaPo Editorial in Favor of NSA Datamining
Posted on May 13, 2006
It’s not often that I find myself in agreement with a Washington Post editorial:
On Thursday, USA Today reported that three U.S. telecommunications companies have been voluntarily providing the National Security Agency with anonymized domestic telephone records — that is, records stripped of individually identifiable data, such as names and place of residence. If true, the architect of this program deserves our thanks and probably a medal. That architect was presumably Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and President Bush’s nominee to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
This “betrayal” by the WaPo will no doubt infuriate the Democratic lunatic fringe.
Another curious little facet of what CBS chooses to describe as a “scandal” is the lack of information in the mainstream media about the Qwest chief executive who chose to thumb his nose at the NSA’s request for anonymous calling data, Joseph Nacchio. While accounts describe Nacchio as the “former” CEO of Qwest, they tend not to mention why he left. This is why:
Washington, D.C., March 15, 2005 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Joseph P. Nacchio, former co-chairman and chief executive officer of Qwest Communications International Inc., and eight other former Qwest officers and employees with fraud and other violations of the federal securities laws. In three separate but related civil actions, the Commission alleges that, between 1999 and 2002, the Qwest defendants engaged in a multi-faceted fraudulent scheme designed to mislead the investing public about the company’s revenue and growth.
Interesting, the only communications executive who obstructed the NSA effort is under criminal indictment.
I still think there’s a good chance, as I wrote earlier, that the “leak” of the NSA program was deliberate, and designed to force Democrats into the open with their unpopular opposition to lawful surveillance programs.
Cross-posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto, The Jawa Report, and Vince Aut Morire.
» Filed Under Border Control/Homeland Security
Trackback URL
Comments
4 Responses to “WaPo Editorial in Favor of NSA Datamining”
-
Affiliations
The Giants
-
Advertise
Donate
Our Store
Click the design to visit our store and help Stop the ACLU!
Stop the ACLU blogburst
-
More blogs about the ACLU
Syndicate Me
“Interesting, the only communications executive who obstructed the NSA effort is under criminal indictment.”
That’s not true. According to this Rocky Mountain News article, Mr. Nacchio’s successor, Dick Notebaert, also refused to betray Qwest’s customers.
‘This “betrayal” by the WaPo will no doubt infuriate the Democratic lunatic fringe.’
Nah. Falkenrath is a former member of the Bush Administration, and he doesn’t speak for the Washington Post at all. He’s just speaking for himself here. It’s not uncommon for opinion sections to open up to outsiders like that.
If you want the Washington Post’s official position, see their editorial from yesterday (May 12):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051101702.html
As you’ll see, all is well with the world, and you can go back to disagreeing with the Post.
What you wrote makes the Bush Administration sounds like it is guilty of vindictiveness just like it was accused of being in the Valery Plame situation.
The Fourth Amendment is vastly overated.