Wiretapping and Surveillance Pro/Conmasondebate.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/67597352/Domestic... · Web viewHowever, the leader decided that while the information "could be used by someone

GMU Patriot Debate Institute 12013 File Title

Wiretapping and Surveillance Pro/Con Wiretapping and Surveillance Pro/Con.............................................................................................................................................................1Niralee...............................................................................................................................................................................................................2Peter...................................................................................................................................................................................................................5Dhirpal...............................................................................................................................................................................................................6*** Pro...............................................................................................................................................................................................................7

Wiretapping Good – Terrorism.....................................................................................................................................................................8Wiretapping Good – Terrorism.....................................................................................................................................................................9Wiretapping Good – Terrorism...................................................................................................................................................................10Wiretapping Good – Terrorism...................................................................................................................................................................12Wiretapping Good – Legal..........................................................................................................................................................................13Wiretapping Good – Legal..........................................................................................................................................................................15Wiretapping Good – Crime.........................................................................................................................................................................16Wiretapping Good – Organized Crime Impact...........................................................................................................................................17Wiretapping Good – A2: Privacy................................................................................................................................................................18Wiretapping Good – A2: Credibility...........................................................................................................................................................20

*** Con...........................................................................................................................................................................................................21Wiretapping Bad – A2: Terrorism...............................................................................................................................................................22Wiretapping Bad – Digital Infrastructure....................................................................................................................................................23Wiretapping Bad – Credibility/Obama........................................................................................................................................................24Wiretapping Bad – Privacy.........................................................................................................................................................................26Wiretapping Bad – Freedom.......................................................................................................................................................................27Wiretapping Bad – Foreign Relations – EU................................................................................................................................................28Wiretapping Bad – Foreign Relations – Germany......................................................................................................................................30

RESOLUTION: The use of domestic wiretapping and surveillance in the United States is justified.


Niralee Electronic Frontier Foundationhttps://www.eff.org/nsa-spying/timeline - The timeline of wiretapping going way back to when the bill of rights were created to now.

Fitton, 2013 Thomas J. Fitton, Tom Fitton is an American activist. He is the President of Judicial Watch, a self-described conservative, non-partisan, educational foundation. “NSA Scandal: Keep Fighting For Civil Liberties”, Jun 27 2013, Breitbart, http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/06/27/NSA-Scandal-Stay-Focused 7/1/2013, DSThe American people are in an uproar over the revelation that the National Security Agency (NSA) has gathered billions of phone and Internet records from millions of American citizens. In response, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has now introduced legislation that could substantially limit the NSA’s data-collection programs under both the USA PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Charlton, 2013 Alistair Charlton, technology journalist, “NSA Spying Scandal: Sir Tim Berners-Lee Warns Against Government” Jun 26 2013, IBtimes, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/483337/20130626/tim-berners-lee-comment-edward-snowden-nsa.htm# 7/1/2013, DSQuestioning the ability of governments to keep information safe, Berners-Lee was speaking at the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, where he and five colleagues were recognised for their work in helping to create the web."In the Middle East, people have been given access to the internet but they have been snooped on and then they have been jailed," Berners-Lee told The Times."Obviously, it can be easy for people in the West to say, 'oh, those nasty governments should not be allowed access to spy'. But it's clear that developed nations are seriously spying on the internet."

Keen, 2013 Andrew Keen, Andrew Keen is a British-American entrepreneur, professional skeptic and the author of "The Cult of the Amateur" and "Digital Vertigo.", “Why we're all stuck in the digital transit zone with Snowden” CNN,http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/28/opinion/keen-snowden-digital-monitoring/index.html?hpt=hp_c Jun 30 2013 NS

“Without privacy, I warn, our individuality, the very thing that defines us as unique human beings, is fatally compromised.” --Andrew Keen (who is an author, professor, entrepreneur, and public speaker and went to the University of London and UC Berkeley in California)

Using wiretapping makes Obama lose his credibility and trustworthiness.Editorial Board 13, The Editorial Board, composed of 18 journalists with wide-ranging areas of expertise, “President Obama’s Dragnet” June 6, 2013 New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/opinion/president-obamas-dragnet.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0, July 1, 2013 NS Within hours of the disclosure that federal authorities routinely collect data on phone calls Americans make, regardless of whether they have any bearing on a counterterrorism investigation, the Obama administration issued the same platitude it has offered everytime President Obama has been caught overreaching in the use of his powers: Terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us to deal with them because we have internal mechanisms (that we are not going to tell you about) to make sure we do not violate your rights.Those reassurances have never been persuasive — whether on secret warrants to scoop up a news agency’s phone records or secret orders to kill an American suspected of terrorism — especially coming from a president who once promised transparency and accountability. The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue. Mr. Obama is proving the truism that the executive branch will use any power it is given and very likely abuse it. That is one reason we have long argued that the Patriot Act, enacted in the heat of fear after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by members of Congress who mostly had not even read it, was reckless in its assignment of unnecessary and overbroad surveillance powers.

Traynor 13 Ian Traynor, Guardian’s European Editor, “NSA spying row: bugging friends is unacceptable, warn Germans” July 1 2013 Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/nsa-spying-allegations-germany-us-france July 1, 2013, NS

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French president, François Hollande, described the disclosures of massive US spying and snooping in Europe as unacceptable, with the Germans suggesting there had to be mutual trust if the trade talks were to go ahead in Washington on Monday. Merkel delivered her severest warning yet on the National Security Agency debacle. "We are no longer in the cold war," her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said. "If it is confirmed that diplomatic representations of the European Union and individual European countries have been spied upon, we will clearly say that bugging friends is unacceptable."

GMU Patriot Debate Institute 32013 File TitleHe said Berlin was keen on the trade talks with Washington, but qualified that support. "Mutual trust is necessary in order to come to an agreement."

Reuters 13, Reuters, “NSA Bugged European Union Offices, Computer Networks: Report”, June 29, 2013, Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/29/nsa-european-union_n_3521820.html, July 2, 2013, NS The United States bugged European Union offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, according to secret documents cited in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest in a series of exposures of alleged U.S. spy programmes.

Lichtblau and Risen 09 Eric Lichtblau and James Risen, journalists for New York Times, James Risen won the Pulitzer Prize, “Officials Say US Wiretaps Exceeded Law” April 15, 2009, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/us/16nsa.html?ref=nationalsecurityagency&_r=0, July 2, 2013, NS

The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.

PRO

Villapaz 13 Luke Villapaz, Multimedia Producer at the International Business Times, NSA Wiretapping Scandal: Was President Obama Consistent On Judicial Oversight Of Intelligence Gathering? Videos Say Yes, International Business Times, http://www.ibtimes.com/nsa-wiretapping-scandal-was-president-obama-consistent-judicial-oversight-intelligence-gathering, July 1, 2013 NS

However, in several appearances dating back to 2006 to the present, President Obama remained consistent with his stance on intelligence gathering done with FISA (Foreign Intelligence Service Act) Court oversight. The constitutionality of the classified NSA program has drawn considerable criticism from both sides of the aisle and privacy advocates. But the White House maintains that the program has been operating under the law and FISC (Foreign Intelligence Service Court) oversight.

Kleinman 13 Alexis Kleinman, Graduate of Princeton University, “Wiretapping Laws May Change To Include Internet Communication” May 8, 2013, Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/wiretapping-laws_n_3237385.html, July 1, 2013, NSThe FBI currently is authorized to access phone correspondence by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which requires phone companies to allow the government (with a court order) to directly intercept any communication. Some have suggested that this means that there is a database of recordings of all phone calls being stored by the government.

Fox News 06 Fox News, “Bush: NSA Wiretapping Hearings Good for Democracy” January 11, 2006, Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181341,00.html, July 1, 2013 NSPresident Bush said Wednesday that congressional hearings to investigate his domestic eavesdropping program will be good for democracy as long as they don't give secrets away to the enemy.

Bush defended the program during a campaign-style town hall meeting, saying he understands concerns about it but monitoring the phone calls of affiliates of the terrorist network Al Qaeda is necessary to protect the United States. He said he made sure he had the legal authority to allow the program before he did so.

"There will be a lot of hearings to talk about that, but that's good for democracy," he said. "Just so long as the hearings, as they explore whether or not I had the prerogative to make the decision I make, doesn't tell the enemy what we're doing. See, that's the danger."

Sorcher 13 Sara Sorcher, National Security Staff Writer for National Journal covering business of war, “Insiders: NSA's Communications Surveillance Good Way to Target Terrorists” National Journal, http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/insiders-nsa-s-communications-surveillance-good-way-to-target-terrorists-20130624, July 1, 2013 NS

The National Security Agency's surveillance programs are effective tools for seeking out terrorists, according to 85.5 percent of National Journal's National Security Insiders. Another Insider said that the NSA must have the tools necessary to root out terrorists or another 9/11 becomes not just possible, but certain. "If we eliminate the online- and phone-surveillance programs and a dirty bomb explodes in an American city, we have only ourselves to blame," the Insider said. "The days of gentlemen not reading other gentlemen's mail are over."


Black 13 Ian Black, Guardian’s Middle East Editor, “NSA spying scandal: what we have learned” June 10 , 2013 The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/10/nsa-spying-scandal-what-we-have-learned, July 1, 2013 NS

President Barack Obama described this program as vital to keeping Americans safe and said the US was "going to have to make some choices between balancing privacy and security to protect against terror". The NSA access was enabled by changes to US surveillance law introduced under President George Bush and renewed under Obama in December 2012.

Example How Wiretapping Worked:

Liptak 07, Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Correspondent of New York Times, “Spying Program May Be Tested By Terror Case” August 26, 2007, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/us/26wiretap.html?ref=nationalsecurityagency, July 2, 2013, NS

Prompted by that notebook and records of 14 phone calls between the imam, Yassin M. Aref, and Damascus, Syria, the Federal Bureau of Investigation quickly began a sting operation aimed at Mr. Aref. Federal agents used an informant with a long history of fraud who spun tales to Mr. Aref about a fictitious plot involving shoulder-launched missiles and the assassination of a Pakistani diplomat in New York.

Mr. Aref and a friend who owned a pizzeria were convicted of supporting terrorism by agreeing to help launder money for the fake operation, and in March the two men were sentenced to 15 years in prison.


Peter Berkes, 13, Howard Berkes, Howard Berkes is an NPR correspondent based in Salt Lake City, “Amid Data Controversy, NSA Builds Its Biggest Data Farm” NPR, http://www.npr.org/2013/06/10/190160772/amid-data-controversy-nsa-builds-its-biggest-data-farm?utm_source=NPR&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20130610, 7/1/13, PKLee, 13, Timothy B. Lee, Timothy B. Lee covers technology policy, including copyright and patent law, telecom regulation, privacy, and free speech, “Lawyers said Bush couldn’t spy on Americans. He did it anyway.” 6/27/13, The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/27/lawyers-said-bush-couldnt-spy-on-americans-he-did-it-anyway/, DOA: 7/1/13, PKLevs & Schoichet 13 Josh Levs and Catherine E. Shoichet are CNN Correspondent, “Europe furious, ‘shocked’ by report of U.S. Spying,” 7-1-13, CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/30/world/europe/eu-nsa/index.html, DOA: 7-1-13, PKEuropean officials reacted with fury Sunday to a report that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on EU offices. The European Union warned that if the report is accurate, it will have tremendous repercussions.

Traynor 13 Ian Traynor, Ian Traynor is the Guardian's European editor. He is based in Brussels, “NSA spying row: bugging friends is unacceptable, warn Germans” 7-1-13, theguardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/nsa-spying-allegations-germany-us-france, DOA: 7-1-13, PKMartin Schulz, the president of the European parliament, likened the NSA to the Soviet-era KGB and indirectly suggested a delay in the talks.Greens in the European parliament, as well as in France and Germany, called for the conference to be postponed pending an investigation of the allegations. They also called for the freezing of other data-sharing deals between the EU and the US, on air transport passengers and banking transactions, for example, and called for the NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, to be granted political asylum in Europe. French Greens asked Hollande to grant Snowden asylum in France.Raum 13, Tom Raum, Tom Raum covers economics and world confusion for The Associated Press in the Washington Bureau, “Obama suggests spying on nations’ allies is common” 7-1-13, My San Antonio. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/French-president-demands-any-US-spying-cease-now-4639865.php, DOA:7-1-13, PK

Fisher 13, Max Fisher, Max Fisher is the Post's foreign affairs blogger. Before joining the Post, he edited international coverage for TheAtlantic.com, “Snowden, in new statement, accuses Obama of using “old, bad tools of political aggression”7-1-13, Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/07/01/snowden-in-new-statement-accuses-obama-of-using-old-bad-tools-of-political-aggression/?hpid=z1, DOA: 7-2-13, PK Edward Snowden, in his first public message since arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport eight days ago, has issued a statement accusing President Obama of deploying “the old, bad tools of political aggression” and “using citizenship as a weapon” in order to silence him. It describes the Obama administration as “afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised — and it should be.”


Dhirpal Article #6This is an outline of two federal statutes: the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).1 Both evolved out of the shadow of the Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. The courts play an essential role in both. Congress crafted both to preserve the ability of government officials to secure information critical to the nation’s well-being and to ensure individual privacy.Doyle and Stevens, 2008, Gina Stevens and Charles Doyle, Gina Stevens Legislative Attorney American Law Division, Charles Doyle Senior Specialist American Law Division. “Privacy: An Overview of Federal StatutesGoverning Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping” Oct. 9, 2012 Congressional Research Service http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/98-326.pdf 7/2/2013 DS

Article #7There are differences between ECPA and FISA. ECPA protects individual privacy from the intrusions of other individuals. FISA has no such concern. FISA authorizes the collection of information about the activities of foreign powers and their agents, whether those activities are criminal or not. ECPA’s only concern is crime.Doyle and Stevens, 2008, Gina Stevens and Charles Doyle, Gina Stevens Legislative Attorney American Law Division, Charles Doyle Senior Specialist American Law Division. “Privacy: An Overview of Federal StatutesGoverning Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping” Oct. 9, 2012 Congressional Research Service http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/98-326.pdf 7/2/2013 DS

Article #8Finally, what the FBI has proposed threatens to undercut what the Obama Administration has been doing to restore America’s moral leadership in the world. Countries with poor human rights records and little privacy protection are seeking to limit Internet technology to control the democratic yearnings of their people. Nojeim, 2010, Gregory T. Nojeim, Gregory T. Nojeim is a Senior Counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Director of its Project on Freedom, Security & Technology. “New wiretapping mandates could harm privacy, innovation and security” 10/1/10, THE HILL http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/122073-new-wiretapping-mandates-could-harm-privacy-innovation-and-security 7/2/2013 DS


*** Pro


Wiretapping Good – Terrorism Domestic wiretapping is critical to counter-terrorism efforts---majority of experts concludesSorcher 13 Sara Sorcher, National Security Staff Writer for National Journal covering business of war, “Insiders: NSA's Communications Surveillance Good Way to Target Terrorists” National Journal, http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/insiders-nsa-s-communications-surveillance-good-way-to-target-terrorists-20130624, July 1, 2013, NS

The National Security Agency's surveillance programs are effective tools for seeking out terrorists , according to 85.5 percent of National Journal's National Security Insiders ."In the digital age, when every individual's digital trail increases year by year, there is no faster way to draw a picture of a network, or a conspiracy, than by piecing together different data streams," one Insider said. "This capability, in years to come, won't be a nice-to-have; it'll be critical ."Another Insider said that the NSA must have the tools necessary to root out terrorists or another 9/11 becomes not just possible, but certain . "If we eliminate the online- and phone-surveillance programs and a dirty bomb explodes in an American city, we have only ourselves to blame," the Insider said. "The days of gentlemen not reading other gentlemen's mail are over."Some Insiders note that individual identities and habits are already tracked intensely in the commercial sphere."I have been fingerprinted at Disneyland and Universal Studios," one said. "When you board a plane in the U.K., your picture is taken before you get on. When you cross a border into the U.S., video is taken of your license plate. Cruise ships require photo IDs be made. Amazon and Google have consumer avatars created for customers and users. Financial institutions routinely collect and track data on customers. When we drive over sensors on a road they collect metadata to establish patterns to improve flow and safety. Whatever NSA may be doing pales in scale to what is happening in plain view."Even backers of government surveillance have some reservations about it, though."The real question is whether a somewhat better counterterror program is worth the price in civil liberties," one Insider said. "This program has reasonably strong oversight, but I'm skeptical all the same.""They are ONE reasonably good way to target some of the less sophisticated terrorist activities, but by no means an end-all," another said. "Whether it's cost effective is another matter."A 14.5 percent minority opposes the programs. "It is like adding hay to the stack allowing us to miss the needles, at the sacrifice of freedom," one Insider said. "As a constitutional lawyer, President Obama should know better, and I say that as a Democrat.""The coverage is way too broad; gather a ton, find a mouse seems to be the approach."Two-thirds of Insiders agreed with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who said the leaks of the NSA's online surveillance would damage U.S. intelligence-gathering capabilities . "Through the revelations, foreign terrorists will learn more about U.S. intelligence tactics, techniques, and procedures that are used to pursue and identify them," one Insider said. "This will spur and aid terrorists to employ more countermeasures, such as increasing the use of anonymizing techniques and encryption in their communications." Still, these Insiders disagreed on the severity of lasting damage stemming from the leaks. "I understand why Clapper said what he did," one Insider said. "However the program will continue on. And our enemies will continue to use phone lines."

http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/insiders-nsa-s-communications-surveillance-good-way-to-target-terrorists-20130624


Wiretapping Good – Terrorism Wiretapping prevents terrorist attacksSullivan 13 Sean Sullivan, Writer at Washington Post, “NSA head: Surveillance helped thwart more than 50 terror plots,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/18/nsa-head-surveillance-helped-thwart-more-than-50-terror-attempts/ Washington Post, 7/1/13

Intelligence officials said Tuesday that the government’s sweeping surveillance efforts have helped thwart “potential terrorist events” more than 50 times since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and the officials detailed two new examples to illustrate the utility of the programs.In testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, officials cited a nascent plot to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and a case involving an individual providing financial support to an overseas terrorist group.“In recent years, these programs, together with other intelligence, have protected the U.S. and our allies from terrorist threats across the globe to include helping prevent the terrorist — the potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11,” National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander told the committee.He said at least 10 of the plots targeted the United States.FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce said Tuesday that a provision in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act helped officials monitor a “known extremist in Yemen” who was in contact with an individual in the United States. The information led to disruption of the New York Stock Exchange plot, Joyce said.Joyce also said that the use of a FISA business record provision helped officials with an investigation involving an individual who was communicating with an overseas terrorist.“The NSA, using the business record FISA, tipped us off that this individual had indirect contacts with a known terrorist overseas,” said Joyce. “We were able to reopen this investigation, identify additional individuals through a legal process and were able to disrupt this terrorist activity.”“So that’s four cases total that we have put out publicly,” Alexander said Tuesday.The Washington Post and Britain’s Guardian newspaper recently revealed the sweeping Internet and telephone surveillance techniques the NSA has utilized in recent years.Several of the witnesses testifying Tuesday said the disclosure of the surveillance programs by admitted leaker Edward Snowden had made the world a more dangerous place.

“We are now faced with a situation that because this information has been made public, we run the risk of losing these collection capabilities,” said Robert S. Litt, general counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “We’re not going to know for many months whether these leaks in fact have caused us to lose these capabilities, but if they do have that effect, there is no doubt that they will cause our national security to be affected.”Alexander had previously said the intelligence gathering helped in the cases of Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan American who pleaded guilty to planning suicide attacks in New York, and Pakistani American David Headley, who conducted surveillance in support of the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. Joyce elaborated on the two previously revealed cases on Tuesday.Alexander said he would provide details of the 50 examples he cited Tuesday to lawmakers in a classified setting on Wednesday.“Those 50 cases right now have been looked at by the FBI, CIA and other partners within the community, and the National Counterterrorism Center is validating all the points so that you know that what we’ve put in there is exactly right,” said Alexander.Alexander also said that if the surveillance programs had been in place before the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States would have known that hijacker Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was in San Diego and communicating with a known al Qaeda safehouse in Yemen.Alexander’s testimony came a day after President Obama defended his administration’s right to engage in such surveillance in an interview with PBS host Charlie Rose, saying the programs had adequate checks and balances.The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Obama argued, provided sufficient oversight of the National Security Agency’s activities and said the government was “making the right trade-offs” in balancing privacy rights with national security prerogatives.“What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your e-mails,” he added, before Rose interjected, “And have not.”“And have not,” Obama reiterated. “They cannot and have not, by law and by rule, and unless they — and usually it wouldn’t be ‘they,’ it’d be the FBI — go to a court, and obtain a warrant, and seek probable cause, the same way it’s always been, the same way when we were growing up and we were watching movies, you want to go set up a wiretap, you got to go to a judge, show probable cause.”During the interview — which aired Monday night — the president took pains to distinguish his national security approach from those of former president George W. Bush and former vice president Richard B. Cheney.“The whole point of my concern, before I was president — because some people say, ‘Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney.’ Dick Cheney sometimes says, ‘Yeah, you know? He took it all lock, stock and barrel,’ ” Obama said, according to a transcript provided by PBS. “My concern has always been not that we shouldn’t do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances?”


Wiretapping Good – Terrorism Wiretapping stops terrorism---2008 attacks proveKatersky Et Al 13 Aaron Katersky, James Meek, Josh Margolin, Brian Ross, Writers at ABC news, “Al Qaeda’s Abandoned NY Stock Exchange Plot Revealed,” 7/1/2013, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaedas-abandoned-ny-stock-exchange-plot-revealed/story?id=19431509#.UdH0cfm1Frs ABC News, 7/1/13, AS

Top U.S. security officials revealed today that the government's recently exposed surveillance programs led them to an al Qaeda cell that plotted, scouted, but ultimately abandoned a plan to bomb the Wall Street in 2008.

"We found through electronic surveillance that they were actually in the initial stages of plotting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange," FBI Assistant Director Sean Joyce told the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

9/11 Terror Threat: Staying Safe Watch VideoJoyce was testifying alongside high-level U.S. officials, including National Security Agency head Gen. Keith Alexander, before the House Intelligence Committee to defend the NSA's practice of collecting vast amounts of telephone and internet usage data – programs revealed last week by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden, who is in hiding in Hong Kong after confessing to the leaks, called the reach of the programs "horrifying." The U.S. officials who testified today claimed they helped put a stop to more than 50 terror plots in 20 countries – four of which were discussed publicly.

The NYSE plot, which had until today been unknown to the public, was centered around an auto parts dealer in Kansas City, Missouri, named Khalid Ouazzani, who pleaded guilty in 2010 for his role in a conspiracy to provide funding to al-Qaeda. At the time of his plea, the complex case against Ouazzani seemed to have little to do with the famous NYSE headquarters on Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, except for a vague reference in his plea agreement that said, "Over a period of years, [Ouazzani] and others discussed various ways they could support al Qaeda."

The FBI now says Ouazzani was talking to an extremist in Yemen about a terror plot that would strike at the symbolic heart of America's capitalist system – an attack on Wall Street.

Ouazzani was never charged with planning any attacks, and a federal law enforcement official told ABC News it was Ouazzani's role as a cooperating witness, after he was identified with the help of NSA programs, that helped authorities uncover the plot in the first place.

A senior law enforcement official told ABC News that "overseas intel" connected Ouazzani to two U.S. citizen extremists, Sabirhan Hasanoff and Wesam el-Hanafi. Court documents unsealed today showed that all three swore their allegiance to al Qaeda, but it was Hasanoff who traveled to New York in 2008 to conduct a scouting mission for a possible bombing attack on the stock exchange.

Hasanoff wrote a "rudimentary report" to a "senior terrorist leader" in an email about the security situation there, the court documents say. However, the leader decided that while the information "could be used by someone who wanted to do an operation, he was not satisfied with the report, and he accordingly disposed of it."

Ouazzani's crew and the plot, never "went operational," a counter-terrorism official in New York said.

Hasanoff and el-Hanafi, both later pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges in June 2012, but again the Department of Justice omitted any mention of the stock exchange in their announcement at the time.

The plot was left out of the public record apparently because it was discovered in part from intelligence gathered through surveillance authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) in Washington, DC. Though there are ways to use such evidence at trial, the Justice Department tries to instead attempt to secure convictions on more typical varieties of crimes like fraud and money-laundering. That was the path chosen in case of the NYSE bomb plot that never was.

The stock exchange, at 11 Wall Street, is just a half-mile away from the site of the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks by al Qaeda. Nicknamed the "Big Board," the exchange is the world's largest stock market with the total value of the companies it lists hovering at more than $16.6 trillion.

GMU Patriot Debate Institute 112013 File TitleThough an attack on the building would be a colossal symbolic blow to the country, the market itself would remain largely intact because the vast majority of trading is now done online, and the market's computer network was relocated to off-site locations in the wake of the 2001 attacks.


Wiretapping Good – Terrorism Wiretapping stops terrorismHosenball 13 Mark Hosenball, Writer at Reuters, “U.S. Internet spying foiled plot to attack NY subways – sources,” Jun 8 2013, Reuter http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/07/usa-internet-subway-plot-idINDEE9560EW20130607, 7/1/13 ASA secret U.S. intelligence program to collect emails that is at the heart of an uproar over government surveillance helped foil an Islamist militant plot to bomb the New York City subway system in 2009, U.S. government sources said on Friday.

Savage 13 Charlie Savage, Writer at New York Times, “F.B.I. Director Warns Against Dismantling Surveillance Program,” June 19 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/us/politics/fbi-director-warns-against-dismantling-surveillance-program.html?_r=0 New York Times, 7/1/13 AS“In this particular area, where you’re trying to prevent terrorist attacks, what you want is that information as to whether or not that number in Yemen is in contact with somebody in the United States almost instantaneously so you can prevent that attack,” he said. “You cannot wait three months, six months, a year to get that information, be able to collate it and put it together. Those are the concerns I have about an alternative way of handling this.”


Wiretapping Good – Legal Wiretapping is legalBarone 13 Michael Barone, a political analyst and journalist, studies politics, American government, campaigns and elections, and a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner. “NSA surveillance, if ungentlemanly, is not illegal,” June 11, 2013, AEI,http://www.aei.org/article/foreign-and-defense-policy/defense/intelligence/nsa-surveillance-if-ungentlemanly-is-not-illegal/, DOA: 7-1-13, y2k

"Gentlemen do not read each other's mail." That's what Secretary of State Henry Stimson said to explain why he shut down the government's cryptanalysis operations in 1929.

Edward Snowden, who leaked National Security Agency surveillance projects to Britain's Guardian, evidently feels the same way.

"I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government," he explained, less succinctly than Stimson, "to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."

Some questions about this episode remain. How did a 29-year-old high school dropout get a $122,000 job with an NSA contractor? How did his job give him access to material including, he says, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Agency Court documents?

And why did he flee to China's Special Autonomous Region of Hong Kong and make his revelations just before the Sunnylands summit, where Barack Obama was preparing to complain to Xi Jinping about China's cyberwarfare attacks?

Oh, and now that he has checked out of his Hong Kong hotel, where has he gone?

All tantalizing questions. But some other questions that many are asking have clear answers.

Is the NSA surveillance of telephone records illegal? No, it has been authorized by the FISA Court under the FISA Act provisions passed by (a Democratic) Congress in 2008.

The NSA is not entitled to listen to the contents of specific phone calls. It has to go back to the FISA Court for permission to do that.

Under the Supreme Court's 1979 Smith v. Maryland decision, the government can collect evidence of phone numbers called, just as the government can read the addresses on the outside of an envelope.

Snowden presented no evidence that the NSA is abusing its powers by accessing the private information of those with obnoxious opinions. There is, so far anyway, no evidence of the kind of political targeting committed by the Internal Revenue Service.

Instead, the NSA is looking for patterns of unusual behavior that might indicate calls to and from terrorists. This data mining relies on the use of algorithms sifting through Big Data, much like the data mining of Google and the Obama campaign.

Snowden also exposed the NSA's Prism program, which does surveil the contents of messages -- but only those of suspected terrorists in foreign countries.

During George W. Bush's administration, many journalists and Democrats assailed this as "domestic wiretapping." But the only time people here are surveilled is when they are in contact with terrorism suspects in foreign countries.

The right of the government to invade people's privacy outside the United States is, or should not be, in question.

You might think, as Henry Stimson did in 1929, that it's ungentlemanly. But as secretary of war between 1940 and 1946, Stimson was grateful for the code-breaking programs that enabled the United States and Britain to decrypt secret Japanese and German messages.

That code breaking, as historians have recounted, though not until long after the war, undoubtedly saved the lives of tens of thousands of Allied service members.

"The Constitution and U.S. laws," as former Attorney General Michael Mukasey wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "are not a treaty with the universe; they protect U.S. citizens."

http://www.aei.org/article/foreign-and-defense-policy/defense/intelligence/nsa-surveillance-if-ungentlemanly-is-not-illegal/

GMU Patriot Debate Institute 142013 File TitleIt is an interesting development that Barack Obama has continued and, Snowden asserts, strengthened programs at least some of which he denounced as a U.S. senator and presidential candidate. As George W. Bush expected, Obama's views were evidently changed by the harrowing contents of the intelligence reports he receives each morning. There are people out there determined to harm us, and not just because they can't bear Bush's Texas drawl.

The Pew Research/Washington Post poll conducted from June 7 to 9 found that by a 56 to 41 percent margin, Americans found it "acceptable" that the "NSA has been getting secret court orders to track calls of millions of Americans to investigate terrorism."

That's similar to the margin in a 2006 Pew poll on the NSA "secretly listening in on phone calls and reading emails without court approval."

Those numbers are in line with changes in opinion over the last two decades.

With increased computer use, technology is seen as empowering individuals rather than Big Brother. And with an increased threat of terrorist attack, government surveillance is seen as protecting individuals.

In these circumstances, most Americans seem willing to accept NSA surveillance programs that, if ungentlemanly, are not illegal.


Wiretapping Good – Legal Wiretapping is legalHouse of Representatives, “Constitutional limitations on domestic surveillance,” June 7, 2007, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg35861/pdf/CHRG-110hhrg35861.pdf, 7/2/2013 AS“The Honorable Trent Franks: Mr. Chairman, in 1968 when Congress enacted the first Federal wiretapping statute, it included in the legislation an explicit statement that, ‘‘nothing in this chapter shall limit the constitutional power of the President to take such measures as he deems necessary to protect the Nation against actual or potential attack, or to obtain foreign intelligence information deemed necessary to the security of the United States.’’ Justice Holmes wrote for a unanimous Supreme Court in 1909 that, ‘‘when it comes to a decision by the head of the state upon a matter involving its life, public danger warrants a substitution of executive process for judicial process.’’


Wiretapping Good – Crime Wire-tapping is key to effective FBI operations---key to rooting out crimesNational Journal 11 “Group Urges Scrutiny To Calls To Expand CALEA,” 2-5-11, http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/techdailydose/2011/02/group-urges-scrutiny-to-calls-to-expand-calea-15?mrefid=site_search, DOA: 7-1-13, DS A coalition of tech associations and privacy groups Tuesday released a "statement of concern" about the FBI's proposals to expand a current law requiring communications providers to ensure law enforcement can conduct wiretaps on their networks.The statement was released by a dozen groups including the Business Software Alliance, Center for Democracy and Technology, Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Net Coalition, and TechAmerica, and comes two days before a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Thursday on ensuring lawful government surveillance with the rise of new technologies."Lawful electronic surveillance plays an important role in enabling government agencies to fulfill their obligations to stop crime and to protect national security," according to the statement from the groups. "These goals, however, must be reconciled with other important societal values, including cybersecurity, privacy, free speech, innovation and commerce."The statement calls on the FBI and the Obama administration to answer several questions before lawmakers consider any proposals to expand the law known as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which requires telecom providers to design wiretapping capabilities into their networks.These questions include explaining what problems would expanding CALEA address, have alternatives to a new CALEA-like mandate been considered sufficiently, and have narrower approaches been pursued.Once these questions are answered, the groups say any effort to expand CALEA must address several issues including preserving the trust of communication users, safeguarding cybersecurity, protecting innovation, continuing to allow the use of strong encryption without introducing new vulnerabilities, avoiding unfunded mandates, and anticipating international demands that may result from expanding U.S. surveillance laws.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/techdailydose/2011/02/group-urges-scrutiny-to-calls-to-expand-calea-15?mrefid=site_search


Wiretapping Good – Organized Crime Impact Organized Crime is badDijk 07 Jan Van Dijk, Pieter van Vollenhoven Chair in Victimology, Human Security and Safety, University of Tilburg, Tilburg, The Netherlands, “Mafia markers: assessing organized crime and its impact upon societies,” 9 October 2007, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12117-007-9013-x/fulltext.html, 7/2/13 AS

In our view, the most important negative effect of organized crime, offsetting all possible benefits, is its pernicious impact on governance. Organized crime tends to erode the integrity of those holding a public office, including those responsible for upholding the rule of law. Where organized crime groups are powerful, legislation, policy-making and legal rulings no longer serve the general interest but the interests of the few. Through the pervasive bias of legislation, policy decisions and jurisprudence, market efficiencies are undermined and both local and foreign investors lose confidence in the legal and regulatory functions of the state and consequently stay away.


Wiretapping Good – A2: Privacy Impact of wiretapping and surveillance policies on privacy is limitedTaylor, 2013, Stuart Taylor Jr. is an American journalist. He graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, and is a regular columnist for The National Journal, a Contributing Editor at Newsweek, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He comments on legal affairs and often focuses on the Supreme Court, appearing frequently in other publications such as The Atlantic, Slate, The New Republic, and The Wall Street Journal. LEGAL “AFFAIRS - Wiretaps Are an Overblown Threat to Privacy”, May 30 2013, National Journal, http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/legal-affairs-wiretaps-are-an-overblown-threat-to-privacy-20011006 7/1/2013, DS

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, ... he could be seen as well as heard. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time.-George Orwell, 1984

Ever since we first read those chilling words, many of us have felt a reflexive horror of being bugged, wiretapped, or (now) tracked by the FBI's fearsomely named Carnivore program, which sifts through computer networks for evidence of crime.

And who can forget the wiretaps and buggings that fueled "the savage campaign of defamation waged by J. Edgar Hoover as head of the FBI against Dr. Martin Luther King," in the words of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.? (Some have forgotten that it was Robert F. Kennedy who authorized the taps.) Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, and Nixon also used wiretaps for political ends.

So when the government seeks broader electronic surveillance powers, as Attorney General John D. Ashcroft is doing now, a lot of us instinctively worry about unleashing some kind of Big-Brother-Hoover-Nixon monster to spy on people and then blackmail or smear them.

Now is a good time to ask whether this fear is exaggerated. The case for more surveillance is pretty obvious: We need to use every available tool to prevent the mass murders of thousands or even millions of Americans. The case against is the familiar concern that the government could abuse the new powers to destroy or damage our privacy. To strike the best balance, we must scrutinize that risk with some skepticism. What bad things could happen, and how likely are they?

Abuses are always possible, especially in wartime, when the temptations for overzealousness are at their zenith and the internal safeguards are at their weakest. "This isn't going to be limited to suspected bombers," as UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh wrote recently in Slate. "Already the government is (wisely) considering trying to track those who financially assist terrorists; financial institutions will find their records (which may include your and my records) being investigated. There will be a peace movement, and there might be reason to suspect that our enemies will try to influence it; members of the movement might find themselves being investigated."

So this is not to suggest that Congress should give the government carte blanche-or, indeed, should give it any new surveillance powers at all unless they might help fight terrorism. While the details of Ashcroft's proposals are complex, the fundamental question is whether the government should have a relatively free hand to spy on suspected terrorists and their associates-including people suspected of ordinary crimes or immigration violations whose possible links to terrorism may largely be a matter of hunch and speculation-without producing the specific evidence required in ordinary criminal investigations.

What dangers would such new powers present? Well, officials might be tempted to stray from their core counter-terrorism mission by going after (say) suspected drug dealers who might possibly be linked to the Medellin cartel, which has engaged in terrorism outside the United States. Officials might spy on anti-globalization demonstrators or peace protesters who throw rocks through the windows of government buildings. And they might already be using their current foreign intelligence surveillance powers to fish for evidence of terrorism by tapping or bugging leaders of Islamic and Arab groups in the United States, whose religious and political discussions are sometimes seeded with hot anti-American rhetoric.

Many and probably most of the conversations overheard and e-mails intercepted would be innocent. That's inevitable when you throw a broad net in the hope of catching people who are very hard to find. And the tappers and buggers might well overhear intimacies or embarrassing disclosures that are none of the government's business. But any officials tempted to abuse such information would be running very serious risks of removal from office, disgrace, and even criminal prosecution.

GMU Patriot Debate Institute 192013 File TitleA major reason for the electronic abuses during the bad old days of J. Edgar Hoover was that until 1967, the Supreme Court had held that the Constitution imposed no limit on governmental wiretapping of anyone, for any reason. Nor were there serious penalties to deter Hoover from using his dirt to play politics.

Now it is a federal crime for the FBI director or anyone else to leak information gleaned from wiretaps or bugs for political ends or for other improper purposes. And now the Justice Department, FBI, and other agencies involved in surveillance are themselves scrutinized by internal and external watchdog agencies with mandates to blow the whistle on any abuses. Washington lawyer Stewart Baker, former general counsel of the National Security Agency, wrote in an online dialogue with Volokh in Slate: "As I once said to an outsider skeptical of NSA's commitment to the law, `Why am I sure that the agency isn't breaking the law? Because there are five outside offices with authority to audit our conduct, and those agencies are headed by five ambitious people whose careers would be made if they could uncover violations of law at NSA.' "

And now our governmental, media, and academic elites are replete with one-time antiwar protesters and others who are quick to pounce on any sign that the FBI or other agencies are up to no good. "Defending civil liberties is at the heart of the Baby-Boomer self-image, a self-image that's been packaged and sold to adolescents ever since," as Baker wrote. "However powerful and rich and snobbish we ex-teenagers become, we still see ourselves as rebels fighting a lonely battle against overweening authority. To make that myth work, we need an overweening authority to battle, preferably one that can't fight back. Intelligence agencies are perfect for that role." So we have watchdogs galore.

Have any grave or widespread invasions of privacy in the past 25 years stemmed from surveillance of suspected terrorists-or of anybody, for that matter? Not that I've noticed. I do know of one troublesome case of suspected political abuse of information gleaned from a foreign intelligence wiretap in the 1980s.

Perhaps I've missed others. But I'd wager that for every such case, there have been dozens and dozens of other cases of people who have seen their privacy or reputations unfairly shredded by or in media stories unrelated to governmental surveillance. "I'd worry more about The New York Times going through my trash than about the police doing it," observes Yale law professor Kate Stith, a criminal law expert.

Of course, the notion that FBI agents may be listening in on our conversations gives us the creeps, even if listening is all they do. "You had to live," Orwell wrote in 1984, "in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized."

But the government has only a limited number of agents to spend their time listening to wiretaps. Agency heads have little incentive to waste their time and budgets on unwarranted snooping. And they will have to justify any and all taps and bugs to their superiors, to subordinates who might blow the whistle, and to judges.

So the chance that they will tap or bug or Carnivore you or me or even the Arab-American family down the street will remain quite small. Indeed, the chance that they will spy on you is a great deal smaller than the chance that your employer is monitoring your e-mail and your Web surfing. It is probably smaller than the chance that a computer hacker will get into your e-mail or a neighborhood kid will overhear your cell phone conversation.

"Is privacy about government security agents decrypting your e-mail and then kicking down the front door with their jackboots?" James Gleick wrote in The New York Times Sunday Magazine five years ago. "Or is it about telemarketers interrupting your supper with cold calls? It depends. Mainly, of course, it depends on whether you live in a totalitarian or a free society." We live in a free one.

Eighteen years ago, in The Rise of the Computer State, the respected journalist David Burnham wrote: "The question looms before us: Can the United States continue to flourish and grow in an age when the physical movements, individual purchases, conversations and meetings of every citizen are constantly under surveillance by private companies and government agencies?"

It can. It has. And now that the computer state has risen indeed, the threat of being watched by Big Brother or smeared by the FBI seems a lot smaller than the threat of being blown to bits or poisoned by terrorists.


Wiretapping Good – A2: Credibility University of South Florida 13 “Obama response to NSA scandal inadequate, alarming” June 10, 2013, usforacle.com, http://www.usforacle.com/obama-response-to-nsa-scandal-inadequate-alarming-1.2829308#.UdH3oDuxWSo, July 1, 2013, NS

“Nobody is listening to your telephone calls,” the president ensured. What the NSA says it is doing, however, is collecting metadata — information ranging from call locations, durations and telephone numbers — a diminutive term that is likely being used for public relations purposes to avoid public suspicion.“You cannot have 100 percent security and 100 percent privacy,” he said.


*** Con


Wiretapping Bad – A2: Terrorism Domestic spying program aids terrorist groupsRood 8 Justin Rood is ABC Staff Reporter, “Domestic Spying Program Could Aid Terrorists, Experts Say,” Feb. 1, 2008, ABC News, http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4224513&page=1#.UdGtFPmTiSo, DOA: 7-1-13, y2k

Although the Bush administration calls it a vital weapon against terrorism, its domestic wiretapping effort could become a devastating tool for terrorists if hacked or penetrated from inside, according to a new article by a group of America's top computer security experts.

The administration has said little about the program except to defend it against charges it amounts to illegal spying on U.S. citizens. When news of the program broke in 2006, then-White House spokesman Scott McClellan called the program a "limited" effort "targeted at al Qaeda communications coming into or going out of the United States."

But documents submitted in an ongoing court case indicate the program involves data centers at major telecommunications hubs that siphon off and analyze billions of bytes of Americans' emails, phone calls and other data.

By diverting the flow of so much domestic data into a few massive pools, the administration may have "[built] for its opponents something that would be too expensive for them to build for themselves," say the authors: "a system that lets them see the U.S.'s intelligence interests...[and] that might be turned" to exploit conversations and information useful for plotting an attack on the United States.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred a request for comment on the article to the interagency National Counterterrorism Center, which directed calls to the National Security Agency, which reportedly runs the program. The NSA declined to comment for this story.The White House referred calls to the NSA.

Senate on the verge of passing a sweeping law authorizing the wiretapping program and updating the law that governs international surveillance.The article, slated to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal IEEE Security & Privacy, was written by six experts from Sun Microsystems, Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and California-based research giant SRI International.

The data centers for the classified program are reportedly housed in "secure" rooms within telecommunications hubs around the country, and connect to operations buried within the NSA's highly classified facilities. But judging by past breaches, the authors conclude this system could be compromised also – from within or outside.

In 2004, hackers cracked a wiretapping function on a Greek national cell phone network. For 10 months, they intercepted conversations by the country's prime minister and its ministers of defense, foreign affairs and justice, and roughly 100 other officials and parliament members, the authors note. The hackers were never caught.

"Although the NSA has extensive experience in building surveillance systems, that does not mean things cannot go wrong," the authors state. "When you build a system to spy on yourself, you entail an awesome risk."

Just as dangerous is the possibility that an insider could access the system undetected, according to the experts. Poorly-designed surveillance technology used by the FBI relies on a "primitive" system to track people who use the operation to wiretap phone conversations, the authors say, creating what they call a "real risk" of an insider attack.

They note that convicted spy Robert Hanssen, one of the most destructive moles in the bureau's history, exploited similar weaknesses to steal information and follow the investigation into himself on FBI computers without leaving a trail.

Last August, a federal judge ruled the program was unconstitutional. The administration is appealing the decision. The Senate is currently considering a White House-backed effort to retroactively immunize telecommunications companies which have participated in the program from civil suits, several of which have been filed since the program came to light. The legislation, the authors say, would allow the program to continue without ensuring proper oversight, accountability and security, creating "a long-term risk."

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4224513&page=1#.UdGtFPmTiSo


Wiretapping Bad – Digital Infrastructure Wiretapping undermines digital infrastructure and national securityJAYCOX & SCHOEN 13, MARK M. JAYCOX AND SETH SCHOEN a civil liberties organization focusing on people's rights as they relate to technology “The Government Wants A Backdoor Into Your Online Communications” MAY-22-2013 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/05/caleatwo DOA 7-1-13

In an age where the government claims to want to beef up Internet security, any backdoors into our communications makes our infrastructure weaker.Backdoors also take away developers' right to innovate and users' right to protect their privacy and First Amendment-protected anonymity of speech with the technologies of their choice. The FBI's dream of an Internet where it can listen to anything, even with a court order, is wrong and inconsistent with our values. National security jeopardized Wiretapping backdoors even affect national security. In 2012, Wired revealed the NSA's discovery and concern that every telephone switch for sale to the Department of Defense had security vulnerabilities due to the legally-mandated wiretap implementation. If politicians are serious about online security, they will not make these security blunders even worse by bringing more sensitive communication technologies under CALEA's scope.


Wiretapping Bad – Credibility/Obama Wiretapping undermines Obama’s credentialFoster 13 Peter Foster is Telegraph Staff Reporter, “Domestic Spying Revelation Could Be Devastating For The Obama White House,”6-6-13, Business Insider, http://www.businessinsider.com/affect-of-nsa-surveillance-on-obama-2013-6, DOA: 7-1-13, y2k

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., pauses as he talks about the assasination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto as he begins a campaign rally Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Egypt protests: Live from Tahrir SquareTalk like EgyptiansLadies' menThe Obama administration will be bracing itself for a torrent of hostile questions this morning following the apparent revelation that the National Security Agency has been data-mining the phone records of tens of millions of ordinary Americans.Not to be confused with eaves-dropping, or bugging the phones of those suspected of conspiring to commit a terrorist or criminal offence, the top secret court order published by The Guardian appears to show that the NSA has been trawling the anonymous 'metadata' of potentially billions of phone-calls.

On the one hand, Americans might take comfort that the 'internals' of their phone conversations — ie the voices themselves — are not being routinely recorded, but on the other, it seems from this leak that potentially everyone with a phone is under some form of surveillance in the USA.

Studies have shown that while anonymous, the 'metadata' — records of location data, call duration, unique identifiers — can provide a surprising amount of information, surprisingly quickly when zeroed in on by investigators.

For Mr Obama– a president who prided himself on his liberal credentials — this leak is a potentially devastating revelation since it exposes him to attack on two fronts — from both the libertarian Right and the liberal Left.

Already the administration has been hammered over its aggressive prosecution of leakers, including what appeared to be an attempt to criminalise a Fox News journalist, James Rosen, for working a source to obtain a leak from the State Department about North Korea.

That story caused the New York Times — usually a reliable friend of the Obama administration — to write a seething editorial accusing the Department of Justice of over-reaching, and using its powers to send a "chilling" message to the media.

It is not clear how wide the NSA data-mining project goes, it's effectiveness as a counter-terrorism tool in identifying potential terrorist or criminal cells or — indeed — whether it has been used for any other purposes.

It appears from previous reports that the NSA's data-mining operation is not new, and has long been suspected — but this is the first clear-cut proof, in the shape of a highly unusual leak from the secretive Foreign Intelligence Service Court (Fisa), that the practice is occurring.

A report in USA Today newspaper from 2006, quoting anonymous intelligence officials, alleged that the NSA been "secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans" and that the agency was using the data to "analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity".

Since September 11 and the passing of the 2001 Patriot Act, the American public has accepted a great deal of inconvenience and intrusion in the name of national security. The publication of this court order will re-open the debate on how far the security services' writ should run.

Politically, the difficulty for Mr Obama is that even if the NSA is actually doing nothing different than it did for George W Bush, the American public — particularly on the liberal left — had believed that Mr Obama's administration represented a fundamental departure from the excesses of the Bush years.

Now, with the continued debate over the use of drones, the failure to close Guantanamo, the ultra-aggressive prosecution of leaks even to the point, perhaps, of muzzling a free press — the questions from the public and the media are starting to weigh down on the Obama White House.

http://www.businessinsider.com/affect-of-nsa-surveillance-on-obama-2013-6

GMU Patriot Debate Institute 252013 File TitleAlready last night, within hours of publication, civil liberties groups who have long warned about the extent of secret surveillance, were jumping on the revelations.

"This confirms what we had long suspected," says Cindy Cohn, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a civil liberties organization that has accused the government of operating a secret dragnet surveillance program told the Washington Post.

"I don't think Congress thought it was authorizing dragnet surveillance" when it passed the Patriot Act, Ms Cohn said, "I don't think Americans think that's OK. I would be shocked if the majority of Congressmen thought it's okay." Over the next few days and weeks, expect a fierce and polarizing debate over just what Americans do feel is acceptable, in the name of their national security.

Using wiretapping makes Obama lose his credibility and trustworthiness.NYT Editorial Board 13, The Editorial Board, composed of 18 journalists with wide-ranging areas of expertise, “President Obama’s Dragnet” June 6, 2013 New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/opinion/president-obamas-dragnet.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0, July 1, 2013 NS Within hours of the disclosure that federal authorities routinely collect data on phone calls Americans make, regardless of whether they have any bearing on a counterterrorism investigation, the Obama administration issued the same platitude it has offered everytime President Obama has been caught overreaching in the use of his powers: Terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us to deal with them because we have internal mechanisms (that we are not going to tell you about) to make sure we do not violate your rights.Those reassurances have never been persuasive — whether on secret warrants to scoop up a news agency’s phone records or secret orders to kill an American suspected of terrorism — especially coming from a president who once promised transparency and accountability. The administration has now lost all credibility on this issue. Mr. Obama is proving the truism that the executive branch will use any power it is given and very likely abuse it. That is one reason we have long argued that the Patriot Act, enacted in the heat of fear after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by members of Congress who mostly had not even read it, was reckless in its assignment of unnecessary and overbroad surveillance powers.


Wiretapping Bad – Privacy Digital wiretapping undermines private security---damages individualityKeen, 2013 Andrew Keen, Andrew Keen is a British-American entrepreneur, professional skeptic and the author of "The Cult of the Amateur" and "Digital Vertigo.", “Why we're all stuck in the digital transit zone with Snowden” CNN,http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/28/opinion/keen-snowden-digital-monitoring/index.html?hpt=hp_c Jun 30 2013 NS

Editor's note: Editor's note: Andrew Keen is a British-American entrepreneur, professional skeptic and the author of "The Cult of the Amateur" and "Digital Vertigo." Follow Andrew Keen on Twitter.(CNN) -- So where, exactly, is Edward Snowden? President Vladimir Putin knows. But Russia's chief snooper isn't telling. Not exactly, anyway.The ex-KGB officer and master of doublespeak described Snowden as a "free man" ( biding his time in a "transit area" in Moscow's Sheremetyo airport. So free, of course, that the young American ex-surveillance officer -- watched around the clock by hawkish Russian security agents - has become as ubiquitously and transparently invisible as the brightly lit subject of a dystopian Kafka story.Read more: How to hide your data from InternetSnowden isn't alone in his fate. The truth is that anyone who uses the Internet is also all in that brightly lit "transit area." I'm afraid we are all in danger of becoming Edward Snowden now."Mr. Snowden really did fly into Moscow," Putin said, with just the glimmer of a secret policeman's smile. "For us it was completely unexpected." Oh, yes, it must have been totally unexpected. So unexpected, indeed, that the area between passport control and the arrival gates in Sheremetyo airport has been transformed into a high security hotel designed to both shield Snowden from public view and to watch him.Yes, Sheremetyo is beginning to mirror the Internet, a vast all-seeing digital panopticon, a network in which somebody might be watching everything we do, a place where individual privacy no longer exists. And Snowden's fate -- of being watched around the clock, of having zero privacy -- could easily become all of our fates.Opinion: In digital age, everyone is becoming a spookIronically, it's Snowden himself who has most clearly revealed to us our fate. In secret National Security Agency (NSA) documents which Snowden gave to the Guardian newspaper, we now know that for more than two years, the Obama administration allowed the NSA, to continue -- as the newspaper put it -- "collecting vast amounts of records detailing the email and internet usage of Americans."Doublespeak isn't, of course, unique to the Russian security apparatchik. The Americans are pretty skilled at it too. "I'm not going to say we're not collecting any internet metadata," thus one Obama Adminstration official told the Washington Post.But, as the Guardian notes, the distinction between metadata and data is mostly semantic. The truth is that the NSA has been data-mining us all of us to death -- Americans and foreigners alike -- in their paranoid search for enemies of the American state. Last year I wrote a book warning about this and called it "Digital Vertigo" -- in homage to Alfred Hitchcock's nightmarish movie about a San Francisco private eye whose life is destroyed by both surveillance and voyeurism. Some people said I was exaggerating. Now they know I wasn't.By being able to read our emails and Internet usage, by harvesting over a trillion metadata records, the NSA knows absolutely everything about us. They know our tastes, what we think, where we go, what we eat, how we sleep, when we are angry, when we are sad. They have become our eyes and our brains. Hitchcock's 20th century movie about surveillance and voyeurism really has become the truth about 21st century digital life.More from Andrew Keen: Should we fear mind-reading future tech? Deal offered for Snowden's return Where is Edward Snowden?It's almost as if the agents at the NSA have become as omniscient as Google or Facebook.The really terrifying thing about Snowden's revelations is the doublethink articulated by the Silicon Valley technology companies whose pipes and platforms have been hijacked by the snooping NSA bureaucrats. Google, Facebook and the rest all, of course, claim, in the sophisticatedly obtuse doublespeak of their lawyers, both ignorance and innocence about the NSA allegations.But, as Techcrunch founder Mike Arrington notes, the truth about Silicon Valley's complicity is this horror story is much murkier, much more like the dark transit area in Sheremetyo airport where Vladimir Putin's spooks are monitoring Snowden's every movement.Silicon Valley's fetish with radical transparency, with encouraging us to broadcasting everything we do and think, is destroying our privacy. And without privacy, I warn, our individuality, the very thing that defines us as unique human-beings, is fatally compromised .Snowden's fate, whether he ends up in Ecuador or Guantanamo or stays in Sheremetyo airport, is to be watched by spooks for the rest of his life. Snowden, the "free man" in Putin's doublespeak, will never truly be alone again.To avoid becoming Edward Snowden, we need to be much more critical of the invasiveness of Silicon Valley's big data companies. We must recognize the creepiness of all-seeing location devices like Google Glass. Most of all, we need to remember that the Internet is never really private so our most intimate thoughts are best kept to ourselves.Visibility is a trap. Remaining free in our digital age requires us to be alone. We have to teach the internet how to forget. We must build an off-switch to the internet, to reinvent it as a dark space, a place where nobody can know what anyone else is doing.


Wiretapping Bad – Freedom Allowing wiretapping in one instance opens a floodgate of governmental surveillanceSchubert 10, Joseph Schubert Yahoo! Contributor Network “Public Surveillance Pros and Cons” Dec-6-2010 http://voices.yahoo.com/public-surveillance-pros-cons-7284444.html DOA 7-1-13 SH

The "slippery slope" effect is what we need to watch out for. When the citizens under watch are completely desensitized to their lack of security caused by the public surveillance, it will be easier for the government to take even more of the freedom and privacy from its people. This is even more likely if the surveillance camera networks in London become more successful in tracking and preventing crime. Cities all over the world will look to it as an example and officials will want to put their own systems in place, using London's successful drop in crime to gain support of voters and government. London has an extreme case of surveillance, as well as all of Britain with its 4.2 million CCTV cameras, but it is one of the growing number of cities with these networks put into place and operating.

We cannot be sure what stance the world will take on public surveillance in the future, but we can already see that it is met with some resistance and some invitation. We know that we need to be cautious when our privacy and rights are concerned, and we know that we need to be weary when giving our governments more power over them.

Privacy and security are two separate ideas that have gone hand in hand, but in this age of rapid advance in technology and information, the two seem to be in a tug-of-war with one another. With cameras lurking, the government monitoring phone calls and email messages, and laws changing to accommodate these acts, we can hardly assume we have any privacy when we leave our homes when we are far from guaranteed privacy within them. Bruce Schneier, security technologist and author writes, "We've been told we have to trade off security and privacy so often ... that most of us don't even question the fundamental dichotomy. But it's a false one" (Security vs. Privacy) Schneier mentions the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01, an event like many others that has lead to the fear many people hold about their safety and security, and may be a headlining cause to why many American citizens would sacrifice their privacy for the feeling of security promised by the government wanting more power to watch its people closer. We are not guaranteed privacy in this country, though many states have laws in place to control and place limits on surveillances such as audio and video recording.


Wiretapping Bad – Foreign Relations – EU Wiretapping undermine relations with EULevs & Schoichet 13 Josh Levs and Catherine E. Shoichet are CNN Correspondent, “Europe furious, ‘shocked’ by report of U.S. Spying,” 7-1-13, CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/30/world/europe/eu-nsa/index.html, DOA: 7-1-13, PK

European officials reacted with fury Sunday to a report that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on EU offices.The European Union warned that if the report is accurate, it will have tremendous repercussions."I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations," European Parliament President Martin Schulz said in a statement. "If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations. On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the U.S. authorities with regard to these allegations." Bush on Snowden: He damaged the country Still looking for Edward Snowden Deal offered for Snowden's return Obama covers his bases on SnowdenGerman Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger "said if the accusations were true, it was reminiscent of the Cold War," ministry spokesman Anders Mertzlufft said, adding that the minister "has asked for an immediate explanation from the United States."French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called for a swift explanation from American authorities."These acts, if they are confirmed, would be absolutely unacceptable," he said in a statement.The outrage from European officials over the weekend was the latest fallout since Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency computer contractor, started spilling details of U.S. surveillance programs to reporters earlier this month.Citing information from secret documents obtained by Snowden, the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that several U.S. spying operations targeted European Union leaders.Der Spiegel said it had "in part seen" documents from Snowden that describe how the National Security Agency bugged EU officials' Washington and New York offices and conducted an "electronic eavesdropping operation" that tapped into a EU building in Brussels, Belgium.The magazine's report also says that NSA spying has targeted telephone and Internet connection data in Germany more than any other European nation. An average of up to 20 million phone connections and 10 million Internet data connections are surveyed daily, Der Spiegel said, noting that the intensity of surveillance puts the U.S. ally on par with China, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.Another report Sunday claimed that surveillance extended beyond European offices.The Guardian newspaper reported that one NSA document leaked by Snowden describes 38 embassies and missions as "targets" and details surveillance methods that include planting bugs in communications equipment and collecting transmissions with specialized antennae.Targets included France, Italy, Greece, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey, according to The Guardian.CNN has not independently confirmed the allegations in the reports from Der Spiegel and the Guardian.U.S. officials did not immediately respond to the Guardian's report. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment Sunday on specific allegations published in Der Spiegel."The United States government will respond appropriately to the European Union through our diplomatic channels, and through the EU/U.S. experts' dialogue on intelligence that the U.S. proposed several weeks ago," the office said in a statement. "We will also discuss these issues bilaterally with EU member states. While we are not going to comment publicly on specific alleged intelligence activities, as a matter of policy, we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations."Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said he had not seen the report and "would not comment on unauthorized disclosures of intelligence programs. The intelligence community would be the most appropriate to do that."Rhodes added that "those are some of our closest intelligence partners, so it's worth noting that the Europeans work very closely with us. We have very close intelligence relationships with them."Father proposes deal for Snowden's voluntary returnU.S. asks Ecuador to reject any asylum request from SnowdenMichael Hayden, a former director of the NSA and CIA, told "Face the Nation" on CBS on Sunday morning that he didn't know whether the report was true."I've been out of government for about five years, so I really don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't confirm or deny it," he said. "But I think I can confirm a few things for you here this morning. Number one, the United States does conduct espionage. Number two, our Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans' privacy, is not an international treaty. And number three, any European who wants to go out and rend their garments with regard to international espionage should look first and find out what their governments are doing."European Union spokeswoman Marlene Holzner, in a e-mail to CNN, said, "We have immediately been in contact with the U.S. authorities in Washington D.C. and in Brussels and have confronted them with the press reports. They have told us they are checking on the accuracy of the information released yesterday and will come back to us."In Brussels, Der Spiegel says, the agency targeted the Justus Lipsius Building, which houses the European Council and the EU Council of Ministers, the union's main decision-making and legislative body.

GMU Patriot Debate Institute 292013 File TitleAnd in Washington, the magazine report claims, the NSA installed bugs in the European Union's building and infiltrated its computer network.Der Spiegel's report comes as negotiations for a trans-Atlantic trade agreement between the United States and the European Union are set to start next month in Washington.Obama: Pay no attention to that man we can't captureSnowden has revealed himself as the source of documents outlining a massive effort by the NSA to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans.Critics slam him as a traitor. Supporters hail him as a hero.Now Snowden, who faces espionage charges in the United States, is in Russia and seeking asylum from Ecuador.U.S. Vice President Joe Biden asked Ecuador "to please reject" the request for asylum, according to Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa."That's not acceptable," WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.Assange, whose organization facilitates the release of classified documents and is assisting Snowden's asylum bid, said he couldn't reveal details about the former NSA contractor's specific location or the status of his case. He criticized U.S. officials for pressuring Ecuador on the matter."Asylum is a right that we all have. It's an international right. The United States has been founded largely on accepting political refugees from other countries and has prospered by it. Mr. Snowden has that right," said Assange. "Ideally, he should be able to return to the United States. Unfortunately, that's not the world that we live in and hopefully another country will give him the justice that he deserves."Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro weighed in on Sunday. In a letter to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega published in Cuban state media, Castro praised Ecuador's president for standing up to U.S. threats over Snowden.On Saturday night, Correa said the ball was in Russia's court."We didn't ask to be in this situation. Mr. Snowden has been in touch with Mr. Assange, who recommended he ask for asylum in Ecuador. In order to process this request, he needs to be in Ecuadorian territory," Correa said in an interview with Ecuador's Oromar TV on Saturday night. "At this point, the solution for Snowden's final destination is in the hands of the Russian authorities."Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it's up to Snowden to figure out his next step."The sooner he selects his final destination point, the better both for us and for himself," Putin said.A top Russian lawmaker said Sunday that Russia must not hand Snowden over to the United States."It's not a matter of Snowden's usefulness to Russia, it's a matter of principle," Alexei Pushkov -- who heads the international affairs committee at the Duma, the lower house of parliament -- said on Twitter."He is a political refugee and handing him over is morally unacceptable," he said.


Wiretapping Bad – Foreign Relations – Germany Germany opposes wiretappingTraynor 13 Ian Traynor, Ian Traynor is the Guardian's European editor. He is based in Brussels, “NSA spying row: bugging friends is unacceptable, warn Germans” 7-1-13, theguardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/nsa-spying-allegations-germany-us-france, DOA: 7-1-13, PKMartin Schulz, the president of the European parliament, likened the NSA to the Soviet-era KGB and indirectly suggested a delay in the talks.

Greens in the European parliament, as well as in France and Germany, called for the conference to be postponed pending an investigation of the allegations. They also called for the freezing of other data-sharing deals between the EU and the US, on air transport passengers and banking transactions, for example, and called for the NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, to be granted political asylum in Europe. French Greens asked Hollande to grant Snowden asylum in France.

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Wiretapping and Surveillance Pro/Conmasondebate.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/67597352/Domestic... · Web viewHowever, the leader decided that while the information "could be used by someone