Remember when ol' Mr. Bush went and decided to tap peoples phone conversations - deemed by him as 'protecting our freedoms' from terrorist attack? Well, looks like its on a larger scale than you think...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is secretly collecting records of ordinary Americans' phone calls in an effort to build a database of every call made within the country, it was reported Thursday.
AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth telephone companies began turning over records of tens of millions of their customers' phone calls to the National Security Agency program shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said USA Today, citing anonymous sources it said had direct knowledge of the arrangement.
The program does not involve listening to or taping the calls. Instead it documents who talks to whom in personal and business calls, whether local or long distance, by tracking which numbers are called, the newspaper said.
The NSA and the Office of National Intelligence Director did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
NSA is the same spy agency that conducts the controversial domestic eavesdropping program that has been acknowledged by President Bush. The president said last year that he authorized the NSA to listen, without warrants, to international phone calls involving Americans suspected of terrorist links.
The report came as the former NSA director, Gen. Michael Hayden -- Bush's choice to take over leadership of the CIA -- was set to visit lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday. Hayden already faced criticism because of the NSA's secret domestic eavesdropping program. As head of the NSA from March 1999 to April 2005, Hayden also would have overseen the call-tracking program.
The NSA wants the database of domestic call records to look for any patterns that might suggest terrorist activity, USA Today said.
Don Weber, a senior spokesman for the NSA, told the paper that the agency operates within the law, but would not comment further on its operations.
"Given the nature of the work we do, it would be irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operational issues; therefore, we have no information to provide. However, it is important to note that NSA takes it legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law," Weber said.
One big telecommunications company, Qwest, has refused to turn over records to the program, the newspaper said, because of privacy and legal concerns.


Your country is turning into a Nazi state, and you complain. If I was an American, I for one would be out there and impeaching Bush.
How much more are you going to let this man get away with?
Swizzy89304 Reviewed by Swizzy89304 on . For all Americans... Remember when ol' Mr. Bush went and decided to tap peoples phone conversations - deemed by him as 'protecting our freedoms' from terrorist attack? Well, looks like its on a larger scale than you think... WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is secretly collecting records of ordinary Americans' phone calls in an effort to build a database of every call made within the country, it was reported Thursday. AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth telephone companies began turning over records of tens of Rating: 5