CAMBRIDGE, Md. (AP) - President Bush defended his warrantless eavesdropping program Friday, saying during what he thought were private remarks that he concluded that spying on Americans was necessary to fill a gap in the United States' security.
"I wake up every morning thinking about a future attack, and therefore, a lot of my thinking, and a lot of the decisions I make are based upon the attack that hurt us," Bush told the House Republican Caucus, which was in retreat at a luxury resort along the Choptank River on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
The president said he asked the National Security Agency to devise a way to gather intelligence on terrorists' potential activities, and the result was the super-secret spy outfit's program to monitor the international e-mails and phone calls of people inside the United States with suspected ties to terrorists overseas. Bush said lawyers in the White House and at the Justice Department signed off on the program's legality, and "we put constant checks on the program."
"I take my oath of office seriously. I swear to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States," Bush said.
2 things are going to happen the first more certain than the second.
First this is a dead bang loser for Demos and a rope a dope. In the end those that latched on to this will pay the price at the polls because most Americans get this. How often has illary been connected to negative comments aout this? Not much because she sees what I see.
Secondly and this is more of a hope, the FISA law will be challenged and ultimatley overturned as an un Constitutional encraochment on the powers of the President. BTW the FISA court ruled in 2002 that the President was within his powers to do this wiretaps. You know why because they see the how this would play out if they had refused to allow him to use his Constitutional Powers.
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams
Three Algerians arrested in Italy over plot targeting US
DECEMBER 23, 2005
TURKISH PRESS
ROME - Three Algerians arrested in an anti-terrorist operation in southern Italy are suspected of being linked to a planned new series of attacks in the United States, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said Friday.
The attacks would have targeted ships, stadiums or railway stations in a bid to outdo the September 11, 2001 strikes by Al-Qaeda in New York and Washington which killed some 2,700 people, Pisanu said.
The Algerians, suspected of belonging to a cell established by an Al-Qaeda-linked Algerian extremist organisation, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), were named as Achour Rabah, Tartaq Sami and Yasmine Bouhrama.
The first two were arrested Friday in the Salerno area south of Naples, and in Curingia, in the southern Calabria region, respectively.
Bouhrama, 32, had been in jail in Naples since November 15 in connection with another investigation of the GSPC. He is believed to be the head of the Salerno cell and to have liaised with other cells in Milan, Brescia and Naples.
The three in custody are also alleged to have procured false papers and funds to finance the GSPC, a hardline fundamentalist movement that rejects the Algerian government's attempt to draw a line under years of Islamist rebellion.
Pisanu said Friday's swoop was part of a wider operation involving other countries.
Links were uncovered between the GSPC's Italian activities and groups in Britain, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.
The Italian version that mentions the wiretaps:
Italy Arrests Three Algerian Suspected Terrorists
By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
23 December 2005
Three Algerians were served with arrest warrants in Italy on Friday on suspicion of links to international terrorism. The men were accused of planning attacks in Iraq and Italy.
The arrests were part of a nationwide sweep against an extremist Algerian group, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, believed to have links with al-Qaida and fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Algeria.
Two of the Algerian men were arrested in the city of Salerno and in a town near Catanzaro. The third warrant was served in prison to the alleged ringleader of the suspected Islamic cell. He was already being held on other charges.
The men were believed to be providing fake documents to the group's members and recruiting new ones. Carabiniere General Giampaolo Ganzer headed the unit that made the arrests.
General Ganzar said: The action cut off the head of a cell which was active and dangerous and ready to enter into action against targets abroad but potentially also organizing to attack targets in Italy.
Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said police conducted dozens of raids across Italy, seizing instructions on how to build explosive devices, documents containing addresses for web sites linked to al-Qaida and videos showing guerrilla warfare scenes and executions of prisoners.
The man already in prison has been named as Yamine Bouhrama, and he has been in custody in Naples since November 15.
Police wiretaps picked up a conversation following the July terror bombings in London in which Mr Bouhrama and an unidentified person talked about finding a ship like the Titanic, packing it with explosives and killing 10,000 people in Italy.
In a separate conversation after July terror attack in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Mr Bouhrama was recorded as saying that soon there'll be an even bigger celebration.
The two other Algerians arrested on Friday, are believed to have been Bourhama's chief aides in plotting attacks and maintaining links between cells in southern and northern Italy.
The French Version:
Copyright 2005 Agence France Presse
All Rights Reserved
Agence France Presse -- English
December 23, 2005 Friday 4:40 PM GMT
LENGTH: 238 words
HEADLINE: Three Algerians arrested in Italy over plot targeting US
DATELINE: ROME Dec 23
Three Algerians arrested in an anti-terrorist operation in southern Italy are suspected of being linked to a planned new series of attacks in the United States, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said Friday.
The attacks would have targeted ships, stadiums or railway stations in a bid to outdo the September 11, 2001 strikes by Al-Qaeda in New York and Washington which killed some 2,700 people, Pisanu said.
The Algerians, suspected of belonging to a cell established by an Al-Qaeda-linked Algerian extremist organisation, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), were named as Achour Rabah, Tartaq Sami and Yasmine Bouhrama.
The first two were arrested Friday in the Salerno area south of Naples, and in Curingia, in the southern Calabria region, respectively.
Bouhrama, 32, had been in jail in Naples since November 15 in connection with another investigation of the GSPC. He is believed to be the head of the Salerno cell and to have liaised with other cells in Milan, Brescia and Naples.
The three in custody are also alleged to have procured false papers and funds to finance the GSPC, a hardline fundamentalist movement that rejects the Algerian government's attempt to draw a line under years of Islamist rebellion.
Pisanu said Friday's swoop was part of a wider operation involving other countries.
Links were uncovered between the GSPC's Italian activities and groups in Britain, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.
LOAD-DATE: December 24, 2005
The British Version:
Copyright 2005 Nationwide News Pty Limited
All Rights Reserved
THE SUNDAY TIMES
December 25, 2005 Sunday
Metro Edition
HEADLINE: US terror attacks 'foiled'
ROME: Three Algerians, arrested in an anti-terrorist operation in southern Italy, were suspected of planning a series of attacks in the US, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said yesterday.
Terrorists would have targeted ships, stadiums or railway stations in an attempt to outdo the September 11, 2001, strikes by al-Qaida in New York and Washington that killed about 2700 people, Mr Pisanu said. The Algerians were suspected of belonging to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.
LOAD-DATE: December 28, 2005
The American Version:
Copyright 2005 The Philadelphia Inquirer
All Rights Reserved
The Philadelphia Inquirer
December 24, 2005 Saturday
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. A06
LENGTH: 99 words
HEADLINE: Italy charges 3 Algerians
BYLINE: Associated Press
Police in southern Italy arrested three Algerians yesterday on international terrorism charges and accused them of planning attacks in Iraq and Italy, police and the Interior Ministry said.
The three were arrested in a nationwide sweep against an extremist group in Algeria, for whom they allegedly provided logistical support, police said.
Officials suspect that they are members of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPC, an Algerian group that allegedly provides fake documents to al-Qaeda and seeks recruits.
Specific targets of the allegedly planned attacks were not immediately known.
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams
Oh i almost about this story and apparently so did ery one else.
I thought this was going to be the great victory for the demos. Finally they were going to get one of their baseless charges to stick on ole Georgie.
Does any one even know what the findings of the Congressional hearing were?
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams
Stop telling me what to do dammit!!!
