MEDIA - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
New York Times admits it held domestic spying story for a full year |
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from The Raw Story
Entered into the database on Friday, December 16th, 2005 @ 15:19:27 MST |
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On the second page of a report which reveals the White House engaged
in warrantless domestic spying, the New York Times reveals that it held the
story for a full year at the request of the Bush Administration, RAW
STORY can reveal. The Times also reveals that senior members of Congress from both parties
knew about Bush's decision to spy on Americans who were making international
calls or emails, without warrants. Further, the Times notes that they have omitted information in the article
they did write, agreeing with the Bush Administration that the information could
be useful for terrorists. Excerpts from the Times' article follow. The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing
that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists
that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration
officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a
year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration
officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted. While many details about the program remain secret, officials familiar with
it said the N.S.A. eavesdropped without warrants on up to 500 people in the
United States at any given time. The list changes as some names are added
and others dropped, so the number monitored in this country may have reached
into the thousands over the past three years, several officials said. Overseas,
about 5,000 to 7,000 people suspected of terrorist ties are monitored at one
time, according to those officials. Several officials said the eavesdropping program had helped uncover a plot
by Iyman Faris, an Ohio trucker and naturalized citizen who pleaded guilty
in 2003 to supporting Al Qaeda by planning to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge
with blowtorches. What appeared to be another Qaeda plot, involving fertilizer
bomb attacks on British pubs and train stations, was exposed last year in
part through the program, the officials said. But they said most people targeted
for N.S.A. monitoring have never been charged with a crime, including an Iranian-American
doctor in the South who came under suspicion because of what one official
described as dubious ties to Osama bin Laden. Full article here. |