"One of the National Security Agency's biggest defenders in Congress is suddenly at odds with the agency and calling for a top-to-bottom review of U.S. spy programs. And her long-time friends and allies are completely mystified by the switch."
"We're really screwed now," one NSA official told The Cable. "You know things are bad when the few friends you've got disappear without a trace in the dead of night and leave no forwarding address."
In a pointed statement issued today, Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein said she was "totally opposed" to gathering intelligence on foreign leaders and said it was "a big problem" if President Obama didn't know the NSA was monitoring the phone calls of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She said the United States should only be spying on foreign leaders with hostile countries, or in an emergency, and even then the president should personally approve the surveillance."
It was not clear what precipitated Feinstein's condemnation of the NSA. It marks a significant reversal for a lawmaker who not only defended agency surveillance programs -- but is about to introduce a bill expected to protect some of its most controversial activities."
Excepts from an article by Shane Harris and John Hudson as it appeared in Foreign Policy
Update: White House OKd spying on allies, U.S. intelligence officials say
16 comments:
Maybe Di Fi doesn't like having her phones and computers tapped. Just a guess.
Don't be naive...
Everyone knows everyone spies. The reaction of Di Fi and the Europeans is in response to their respective flakey constituents. It is theater.
Nonsense. She is not so stupid as to believe the US government ought only to spy on hostile foreign leaders. Just a few photo-ops and sound bites with puffed up concern, gentle chiding of the president for trusting his subordinates a little to much, blaming the Bush administration for (whatever), and, best of all, plenty of time to get the issue off the table before the 2014 congressional elections.
That was a rhetorical statement about being naive. I was not responding to Michael directly.
He has a good point, Di Fi may be just huffy that she might be targeted by the NSA.
I think it was Three Days of the Condor where one branch of the CIA purged some other branch with extreme prejudice.
It was a long time ago but I remember Robert Redford's stunned disbelief at the whole situation and exclaiming "I JUST READ BOOKS!"
Anyway, it's always difficult to take Robert Redford seriously and the Fay Dunaway twisted love story angle was obviously tacked on and it ruined what started out to be a promising political thriller, IIRC.
There should be a term for that. Maybe we could call it the When a Stranger Calls syndrome. Is there anybody on earth who's seen that movie who doesn't remember the beginning part where the babysitter gets the phone calls?
Is there anybody who remembers what happened afterwards?
No, wait. I remember. Some detective guy chases after the bad guy and then he gets him in the end.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
I think I still remember the "I just read books" line because it was so completely incongruous to have one of Hollywood's most prominent romantic leads playing a bookworm.
And then it gets all kinky, as if his raw animal magnetism can't ever possibly be restrained.
FAIL!!!
Rats, ship, you know the drill.
So:
- Spying on Americans: fine.
- Spying on US corporations: fine.
- Spying on foreigners: fine.
- Spying on foreign politicians: OMG the sky is falling!
The mind of Diane Feinstein, ladies and gentlemen.
I am amused that the media and the public apparently think Snowden revealed anything with his batch of mostly PowerPoint decks.
Who is going to challenge anything he claims? Nobody is who...see, the NSA is about secrecy not debate.
Whatever he took, however insignificant or however important and risky to the national security, you, we, will never frigging know.
Repeat: ...the NSA is about secrecy. Disinformation enhances secrecy.
NSA doesn't give a shit about who is President. You have guys like Brennan and Clapper who have to pinch themselves to try to tell the truth, and they still fail.
EBL is right on the money...this is almost entirely theater and distraction of the kind used by magicians.
Revenant beat me to it. And said it way better.
I realize the Obama defenders are scarce these days, but I would welcome one of them explaining how this reflects well on the administration.
Surely we have been spying on our friends for decades. It makes perfect sense and it isn't necessarily an unfriendly thing to do. For one, it might help ferret out a mole or a turncoat in one of their governments. And--on the assumption everyone else is spying on us, it might help us plug some holes.
But there's no way Merkel and the other leaders don't act precisely as they have, once it becomes public.
FYI, a story came out today in which unnamed sources in our intelligence programs contradicted the White House's claim that President Obama had no idea. No surprise there.
But it reminds me of something someone said back when the Benghazi mess was unfolding. The prediction was made that the lower-downs in the CIA and military and other agencies, who were being thrown under the bus by the State Department and the White House, would get their revenge.
Dots? Connected? I dunno.
Question remains to Obama defenders: how am I wrong in saying this reflects badly on him?
here is a point that may be relevant--the NSA is not an agency to be fucked with--they also monitor the POTUS and his staff's communications. They know where the skeletons are. And I suspect there are a whole lot of skeletons in the oval office. I anticipate a lot of leaks over the next few months that will not reflect well on the commander in chief.
Roger J .... you have some background similar to mine. Note that I said: NSA doesn't give a shit about who is President.
Firsties! :-)
This is all kabuki theater.
Feinstein will never do anything to hurt Obama. She will never follow through on sanctions or even a mild criticism. Never in a million years.
Obama could gut, cook and eat Honey Bbo Boo on national television and Feinstein, Pelosi, Matthews and all the libs here would find a way to justify it.
It's all bullshit.
Presidents are temporary. The NSA is permanent. And the NSA knows who left whom behind in Benghazi and other places we have not heard about.
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