The liberal news media is incapable of facing its own mistakes. Instead it simply tries to spin out lies to its customers and delude itself into believing that it was always being professional and accurate. Case in point: the huge FISA win Bush just orchestrated in the House of Representatives, which is better than any version I have seen to date:

… the bill makes clear that all intelligence surveillance is governed by FISA. The legislation mandates that the administration obtain a court-approved, individual warrant for any spying activity directed at a U.S. citizen — whether that citizen is on U.S. soil or abroad — and that the administration prove it has “probable cause” to believe that the person is engaged in espionage. The procedures used for surveillance of non-U.S. citizens on foreign soil must be approved by the FISA court and reviewed annually. The inspectors general of the Justice Department and the intelligence agencies are charged with reviewing the surveillance programs, with particular focus on how many U.S. citizens are targeted, how many domestic surveillance projects are requested and undertaken, and whether the methods used by the administration to obtain warrants and carry out surveillance are narrowly tailored and show respect for civil liberties. The intelligence and judiciary committees of both chambers will have oversight powers; currently, only the intelligence committees have that responsibility. If passed today, the bill would be up for review in 2012.

Basically this is how the FIS Court and NSA have been coordinated for years now. For proof I only need to go back to remarks from January 2006 by General Hayden (then between jobs after leaving the NSA and prior to heading the CIA). First off, the fact that NSA never ‘bypassed’ the FIS Court, but instead started sending all sorts of leads to the FBI to use as probable cause in FIS Court hearings on probable cause:

Look, this is not unlike things that happened in other areas. Prior to September 11th, airline passengers were screened in one way. After September 11th, we changed how we screen passengers. In the same way, okay, although prior to September 11th certain communications weren’t considered valuable intelligence, it became immediately clear after September 11th that intercepting and reporting these same communications were in fact critical to defending the homeland. Now let me make this point. These decisions were easily within my authorities as the director of NSA under and executive order; known as Executive Order 12333, that was signed in 1981, an executive order that has governed NSA for nearly a quarter century.

There was no change, after 9-11, in the interception of communications. The change was in how much of this information was disseminated to law enforcement, which then went to the FIS Court for probable cause decisions:

Now, as another part of our adjustment, we also turned on the spigot of NSA reporting to FBI in, frankly, an unprecedented way. We found that we were giving them too much data in too raw form. We recognized it almost immediately, a question of weeks, and we made all of the appropriate adjustments. Now, this flow of data to the FBI has also become part of the current background noise, and despite reports in the press of thousands of tips a month, our reporting has not even approached that kind of pace. You know, I actually find this a little odd. After all the findings of the 9/11 commission and other bodies about the failure to share intelligence, I’m up here feeling like I have to explain pushing data to those who might be able to use it. And of course, it’s the nature of intelligence that many tips lead nowhere, but you have to go down some blind alleys to find the tips that pay off.

Now, beyond the authorities that I exercised under the standing executive order, as the war on terror has moved forward, we have aggressively used FISA warrants. The act and the court have provided us with important tools, and we make full use of them. Published numbers show us using the court at record rates, and the results have been outstanding.

The government record is clear – the NY Times and liberal media lied about what changed after 9-11 when it comes to FIS Court and NSA generated leads. Let’s now address the fact that these communications must include one end being overseas and connected to a known or suspected terrorist entity. This is not new at all, as the article above tries to claim:

You know, the 9/11 commission criticized our ability to link things happening in the United States with things that were happening elsewhere. In that light, there are no communications more important to the safety of this country than those affiliated with al Qaeda with one end in the United States. The president’s authorization allows us to track this kind of call more comprehensively and more efficiently. The trigger is quicker and a bit softer than it is for a FISA warrant, but the intrusion into privacy is also limited: only international calls and only those we have a reasonable basis to believe involve al Qaeda or one of its affiliates.

…

Let me talk for a few minutes also about what this program is not. It is not a driftnet over Dearborn or Lackawanna or Freemont grabbing conversations that we then sort out by these alleged keyword searches or data-mining tools or other devices that so-called experts keep talking about.

This is targeted and focused. This is not about intercepting conversations between people in the United States. This is hot pursuit of communications entering or leaving America involving someone we believe is associated with al Qaeda.

…

One end of any call targeted under this program is always outside the United States.

And what about US Citizens? There has always been a requirement for a FIS Court order to bring US Citizens under surveillance – this is not new or a change from anything done in the past 7 years. And there has always been oversight by the Department of Justice:

So now, we come to one additional piece of NSA authorities. These are the activities whose existence the president confirmed several weeks ago. That authorization was based on an intelligence community assessment of a serious and continuing threat to the homeland. The lawfulness of the actual authorization was reviewed by lawyers at the Department of Justice and the White House and was approved by the attorney general.

So, what is new? Well one thing has finally happened – people in the US are not automatically granted the same rights as US citizens. Take this sentence for example:

The legislation mandates that the administration obtain a court-approved, individual warrant for any spying activity directed at a U.S. citizen — whether that citizen is on U.S. soil or abroad — and that the administration prove it has “probable cause” to believe that the person is engaged in espionage. The procedures used for surveillance of non-U.S. citizens on foreign soil must be approved by the FISA court and reviewed annually.

Subtly worded. But what is clear is there are now two sets of rules: one for American Citizens (which is the old set of rules requiring a FIS Court surveillance warrant) and now lesser stringent rules for non-citizens in country. No more treating Bin Laden or Mohamed Atta as an equal to President Bush or any other American citizen.

Another difference – no more lame 72 hours for emergency surveillance but a more reasonable 7 days to gather evidence and build the probable cause case for the FIS Court.

And finally, the big enchilada:

Yet the compromise bill also preserves appropriate flexibility for the executive. In emergencies, the attorney general and the director of national intelligence could begin a surveillance project without a FISA warrant, but they would have to seek FISA approval within seven days. The bill also provides appropriate protections from civil lawsuits for telecommunications companies and gives these companies access to the FISA court to challenge requests they deem improper.

How do I know this is a big win for Bush being spun with massive amount of lipstick from the liberal surrendermedia? Easy, just check out the far left lunatics who are driven by paranoid obsessions regarding of the second coming of Nixon, while ignoring the threats of terrorists and the human carnage a future 9-11 would bring. More handwringing here. They are really upset – which brings a smile to my face!

Folks can read all my posts on the FISA-NSA propaganda here.

Tags: FISA, Hayden, House Of Representatives, NSA