Incredible;
Turns out, in the late 90s the NSA had developed but then later dropped a well-designed communications surveillance program, ThinThread, that protected privacy concerns through encyption and that was much more efficient than the NSA's patently illegal warrantless spying adopted after the 2001 attacks.
WHY in the world would the NSA and White House have instead pushed for the massive spying that violates basic Privacy and legal protections? The articles above and below suggest the answer -- the vast warrantless spying was pushed by Hayden and the White House, because it was much more vulnerable to abuse and 'fishing' expeditions, precisely the kinds of intrusive and intimidating pressure that kills free speech and that discourages rigorous investigative journalism into governmental abuses, partisan spying, discovery of covert actions, and cultivation of insider sources revealing endemic improprieties.
Christ, but the foulness of everything these political hacks and illegitimate 'leaders' and bureaucratic operatives do extends through a multitude of layers. It's almost a full-time job cutting through the bullshit and trying to remain modestly informed and up-to-date on their schemes and rackets.
Re-meme-ber, the Patriot Act wasn't really Bush's idea. How quickly we forget
1. Many of the provisions were originally from Clinton's anti-terrorism bill of 1996
and
2. How the Dems rolled over like a well trained dog.
Also see, The Press and the USA Patriot Act
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