National Security Agency

“ Senator, I think that the president's authority as commander in chief obviously is stronger during a time of war. If the authorization to use military force did not exist or was repealed or was not interpreted in the way that we are advocating, then it seems to me you're teeing up a fairly difficult constitutional question as to whether or not Congress can constitutionally limit the president's ability to engage in electronic surveillance of the enemy during a time of war. ”

“ Given this common ground, how can anyone conclude that it is not necessary and appropriate to intercept Al Qaida phone calls?
The term "necessary and appropriate force" must allow the president to spy on our enemies, not just shoot at them blindly, hoping we might hit the right target.
In fact, other presidents have used statutes like the force resolution as a basis for authorizing far broader intelligence surveillance programs.
President Wilson, in World War I, cited not just his inherent authority as commander in chief to intercept all telecommunications coming into and out of this country. ”

“ Al Qaida has no boundaries, no government, no standing army. Yet they are capable of wreaking death and destruction on our shores.
And they have sought to fight us not just with bombs and guns. Our enemies are trained in the most sophisticated communications, counter-intelligence and counter-surveillance techniques. And their tactics are constantly changing. ”

“ It's hard to imagine, as smart as you are, that you wouldn't provide to the president of the United States the grantive authority to at least deal with a similar kind of threat to the one we just experienced.
SPECTER: The law involving wiretapping, prior to the enactment of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, had the preceding sentence, quote: "Nothing contained" -- referring to the law -- "shall limit the constitutional power of the president to obtain foreign intelligence information deemed essential to the security of the United States." ”

“ Chairman, the terrorist surveillance program is lawful in all respects. As we have thoroughly explained in our written analysis, the president is acting with authority provided both by the Constitution and by statute.
First and foremost, the president is consistent with our Constitution. Under Article 2, the president has the duty and the authority to protect America from attack. Article 2 also makes the president, in the words of the Supreme Court, quote, "the sole organ of government in the field of international relations." ”

“ GONZALES: To succeed, we must deploy not just soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines, we must also depend on intelligence analysts, surveillance experts and the nimble use of our technological strength.
Before 9/11, terrorists were clustered throughout the United States preparing their assault. We know from the 9/11 Commission report that they communicated with their superiors abroad using e- mail, the Internet and telephones. ”

“ You talk about authorization for use of military force. We have a chart up over there; says that, "The president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations of persons that he determines planed, authorized, committed or aided the terrorists attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations of persons, in order to prevent future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons." ”

“ GONZALES: The president expects us to use all the tools available under the Constitution.
Obviously, we have strong law enforcement tools that we have been using and will continue to use. But this is also a very serious military campaign. And we're going to exercise and use all the tools, again, that are available to us in fighting this new kind of threat in this new kind of war. ”

“ The National Reconnaissance Office was an agency within DoD responsible for developing, acquiring, launching, and operating space-based surveillance and reconnaissance systems that collected and delivered intelligence to enhance national security.
f. The Department of Energy. The Department of Energy was responsible for maintaining a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent to protect national security, including ensuring the effectiveness of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear explosive testing. ”

“ Fourth, this program is administered by career professionals at NSA, expert intelligence analysts and their senior supervisors with access to the best available information. They make the decisions to initiate surveillance. The operation of the program is reviewed by NSA lawyers, and rigorous oversight is provided by the NSA inspector general. ”

“ And, General Gonzales, I just want to make a couple of points that are important to keep in mind as we ask you questions.
First, we all support a strong, robust and vigorous national security program. Like everyone else in this room, I want the president to have all the legal tools he needs as we work together to keep our nation safe and free, including wiretapping. ”

“ I would direct you and the other members of the committee to Chairman Roberts' response to Mr. Dean in terms of making it clear that what's going on here is much more akin to the directive by President Roosevelt to Attorney General Jackson in terms of authorizing his administration to initiate warrantless surveillance of the enemy. ”

“ To the extent consistent with safeguarding the security of the United States and protecting classified national security information from unauthorized disclosure, agency functions relating to determining eligibility for access to classified national security information shall be appropriately uniform, centralized, efficient, effective, timely, and reciprocal. ”

“ And finally—and perhaps most importantly — we need to deepen the trust between the Intelligence Community and the citizens we strive to protect.
At CIA, I can assure you that we are committed to earning that trust every day. We know we can never take it for granted. We must continue to be as open as possible with the American people so that our society can reach informed judgments on striking the proper balance between individual privacy and national security. As CIA Director, it is my sworn duty to uphold the Constitution and defend national security. ”

“ The term ‘‘interagency national security professional’’ means an employee of an Executive agency who plans, coordinates, or participates in activities relating to the national security of the United States that require significant interaction and engagement with other Executive agencies. ”

“ Subsection (a) shall not be deemed to limit or affect the responsibility and power of an agency head pursuant to other law or Executive order to deny or terminate access to classified information if the national security so requires. Such responsibility and power may be exercised only when the agency head determines that the procedures prescribed by subsection (a) cannot be invoked in a manner that is consistent with the national security. ”

“ Whenever a loss or possible unauthorized disclosure involves the classified information or interests of a foreign government agency, or another U.S. government agency, the department or agency in which the compromise occurred shall advise the other government agency or foreign government of the circumstances and findings that affect their information or interests. However, foreign governments normally will not be advised of any security system vulnerabilities that contributed to the compromise. ”

“ Risk management principles means the principles applied for assessing threats and vulnerabilities and implementing security countermeasures while maximizing the sharing of information to achieve an acceptable level of risk at an acceptable cost. (s) Security-in-depth means a determination by the agency head that a facility's security program consists of layered and complementary security controls sufficient to deter and detect unauthorized entry and movement within the facility. ”

“ Individuals, organizations, groups, or networks, including individuals acting as agents of a foreign government, that are not part of a foreign state’s armed forces, who are known or appropriately suspected to be engaged in activities that constitute an articulable threat to U.S., U.S. supported, or U.S.-led coalition military operations, personnel, equipment, or facilities. ”

“ Intelligence—and how we use it—is our first line of defense against terrorists and the threat posed by hostile states. Designed around the priority of gathering enormous information about a massive, fixed object—the Soviet bloc—the intelligence community is coping with the challenge of following a far more complex and elusive set of targets. ”

“ Innovation within the armed forces will rest on experimentation with new approaches to warfare, strengthening joint operations, exploiting U.S. intelligence advantages, and taking full advantage of science and technology.We must also transform the way the Department of Defense is run, especially in financial management and recruitment and retention. ”

“ We must transform our intelligence capabilities and build new ones to keep pace with the nature of these threats. Intelligence must be appropriately integrated with our defense and law enforcement systems and coordinated with our allies and friends.We need to protect the capabilities we have so that we do not arm our enemies with the knowledge of how best to surprise us. Those who would harm us also seek the benefit of surprise to limit our prevention and response options and to maximize injury. ”

“ As the United States Government relies on the armed forces to defend America’s interests, it must rely on diplomacy to interact with other nations. We will ensure that the Department of State receives funding sufficient to ensure the success of American diplomacy. The State Department takes the lead in managing our bilateral relationships with other governments. And in this new era, its people and institutions must be able to interact equally adroitly with non-governmental organizations and international institutions. ”

“ The presence of American forces overseas is one of the most profound symbols of the U.S. commitments to allies and friends. Through our willingness to use force in our own defense and in defense of others, the United States demonstrates its resolve to maintain a balance of power that favors freedom. To contend with uncertainty and to meet the many security challenges we face, the United States will require bases and stations within and beyond Western Europe and Northeast Asia, as well as temporary access arrangements for the long-distance deployment of U.S. forces. ”

“ We are continually tempted to treat all technology as an end in itself instead of a means to some end. The Internet is no exception: it has in large measure become the thing itself instead of a means of discovery, understanding,and knowledge.
Like Tlön, the Internet, "is surely a labyrinth, but it is a labyrinth devised by men, a labyrinth destined to be deciphered by men." We must avoid getting lost in the labyrinth without a clew. My hope is that Untangling the Web will be something akin to Ariadne's clew. ”

“ This broad portfolio of military capabilities must also include the ability to defend the homeland, conduct information operations, ensure U.S. access to distant theaters, and protect critical U.S. infrastructure and assets in outer space. ”

“ Each Council is also responsible for the effective coordination of the security-related activities and functions of the executive departments and agencies. The security threats facing the United States in the 21st century transcend international boundaries. ”

“ We must be prepared to stop rogue states and their terrorist clients before they are able to threaten or use weapons of mass destruction against the United States and our allies and friends. Our response must take full advantage of strengthened alliances, the establishment of new partnerships with former adversaries, innovation in the use of military forces, modern technologies, including the development of an effective missile defense system, and increased emphasis on intelligence collection and analysis. ”