John Byrne, Raw Story
President Bush authorized a “series of secret surveillance activities” by executive order after Sept. 11, 2001, according to a letter from Bush Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA).
The disclosure marks the first time “that the administration has publicly acknowledged that Bush’s order included undisclosed activities beyond the warrantless surveillance of e-mails and phone calls that Bush confirmed in December 2005,” according to the Washington Post.
Bush’s executive order authorized “a number” of intelligence activities. The name created by the Bush team — ‘Terrorist Surveillance Program’ — applied only to “one particular aspect of these activities,” McConnell wrote.
(Original Article)