WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President
George W. Bush called on Wednesday for a permanent and expanded law to allow the
government to eavesdrop without warrants on foreign terror suspects.
During a speech addressed to the National Security
Agency, Bush said that without such a law, "Our national security professionals
will lose critical tools they need to protect our country."
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U.S. President George W. Bush (C) speaks
to the press during his visit to the National Security Agency in Fort
Meade, Maryland, Sept. 19, 2007. Alongside Bush are Homeland Security
Advisor Fran Townsend (L) and Vice President Dick Cheney. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
Photo
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In
August, Congress hastily approved a new law, the Protect American Act, to allow
the government temporarily having more power to intercept foreign communications
without a court order even involving Americans.
However, Bush asked Congress to make the Protect
American Act a permanent and expanded law before it expires in six months.
"The decisions Congress makes will directly affect
our ability to save American lives," Bush said. "I look forward to working with
Congress to enact this legislation as quickly as possible, so that our
intelligence officials will continue to have the tools they need to keep the
American people safe."
He also urged Congress to take up other critical
proposals included in the comprehensive FISA reform submitted in April.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA,
provides a critical legal foundation for intelligence community to monitor
communications while protecting Americans' freedom, Bush said.
The 30-year-old FISA ruled that warrants for
eavesdropping must be obtained from a secret intelligence court.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's
terrorist screening database flagged Americans and foreigners as suspected
terrorists almost 20,000 times last year, but only a small fraction of those
questioned were arrested or denied entry into the United States, The Washington
Post reported Saturday.
Slightly more than half of the 20,000 encounters last year
were logged by Customs and Border Protection officers, who turned back or handed
over to authorities 550 people, most of them foreigners, the newspaper quoted
Customs officials as saying. Full story
