OBAMA DEFENDS NSA AND FBI SPYING ON US CITIZENS
California, 29 Rajab 1434/8 June 2013 (MINA) – US President Barack Obama has defended the collection of data from phone calls and internet accounts by the National Security Agency (NSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as “legal and necessary to combat terror.”
“Nobody is listening to your telephone calls,” Obama said in San Jose, California, on Friday.
Obama also defended a joint NSA-FBI initiative called PRISM in which agents tap into the servers of nine US internet giants, including Facebook, Google, and YouTube, saying the measure does not apply to American citizens or those living in the US, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
Thursday, the Washington Post reported late that the NSA had direct access to internet firm servers, saying their source, a career intelligence officer, was horrified of the capabilities of the systems used by the top US spy agency.
On the same day, the Guardian also revealed that a top secret court order in the US that allows the NSA to collect data on millions of Americans who are customers of Verizon Communications.
But, internet giants like Apple and Facebook denied claims that they opened their doors for US spy agencies.
According to the order Verizon should, “on a daily basis,” give the NSA data, including phone numbers of both parties, location, the time and duration of all phone calls in its systems, both in the US and between the US and other countries.
The president admitted that the two programs made “modest encroachments” on privacy, adding that providing.
“Absolute security would certainly create some “inconvenience” when it comes to people’s privacy,” he said.
Obama also tried to calm nerves by saying that the measures enjoy the full support of Congress and are being monitored by federal and secret intelligence courts for any abuse by the authorities.
Not first time the U.S. government intelligence agencies violate personal rivasi citizens.
In 2011, the FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide provide a wider space for the agency to monitor the people who they deem suspicious.
Under that rule, about 14,000 were allowed FBI agents search a database of individual Americans that interest them without making a record of the decision.
FBI can also use a lie detector test is not only the accused, but on potential informants. In addition, they are allowed to search through garbage bags of potential informants for information that helps the government in investigating suspects.
And the same thing happened when the U.S. government operate drones that fly over American cities and citizens lurk every day-to-day activities. (T/P09/E1).
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
