On May 16, 2006, at 3:01 PM, Tom C wrote:
I just don't see how collecting data on 'all the phone calls in the
United States' and 'analyzing them for patterns' will help fight
terrorism. That data base would contain a preponderance of
useless, irrelevant data.
Tom C.
This from last weekend should clarify:
The National Security Agency reported a sharp increase in long
distance telephone usage yesterday, causing high-ranking
intelligence officers in the Bush administration to fear that al-
Qaeda might be planning a terror plot to coincide with Mother's Day.
Beginning Sunday morning and continuing throughout the day,
Americans' long distance usage surged well beyond normal levels,
sparking concerns that a terrorist event was either being planned
or moving into an operational phase.
At the White House, national security adviser Stephen Hadley said
that the troubling increase in chatter was "the strongest argument
possible" for the Bush administration's policy of eavesdropping on
millions of Americans.
"If we were not listening in on everyone's conversations, when
there is a sudden increase in phone usage such as we have seen
today we would totally miss it," Mr. Hadley said.
In addition to what he called "frighteningly normal-sounding phone
calls to terrorists posing as mothers," Mr. Hadley reported that al
Qaeda members or affiliates placed thousands of phone calls to
florists in order to mask their terror plot.
When asked by a reporter why no terrorist event ultimately occurred
on Sunday, Mr. Hadley replied, "I chalk that up to the success of
our eavesdropping program."
In response to another reporter who asked if the increase in long
distance usage could have been due to Mother's Day itself, the
security adviser said, "That's exactly what the terrorists want us
to think."
