From soj at Booman Tribune
What nobody talked about was all the other DSP programs, numbers 2-999. The ones that are not strictly focused on international calls. I’m talking about programs like data mining browser and search engine usage (DSP2), surveillance of peace and anti-war groups (DSP3), data mining emails (DSP4), using JPEN and other “total information awareness” type databases (DSP5), using computers to data mine domestic phone calls (DSP6), passing along NSA information on Americans (illegal) to other agencies like the FBI (DSP7), etc.
The Senate hearings were interesting, that’s for sure, but they were largely useless. Gonzales was there to talk about DSP1 and only DSP1 and since it involves people reasonably believed to be Al-Qaeda terrorists, the Congress is going to do nothing about it. The American people don’t care if the government is spying on Al-Qaeda (even in America), in fact they support it wholeheartedly. I finally figured out why the administration is stumping on the issue – it’s because they’re only talking about DSP1 and it sounds great. Who could really be opposed to spying on “known” terrorists?
DSP1 is just one tiny “tool” used by the administration and it is by far the most acceptable one to the American people. When the New York Times revealed that there were DSP’s, the administration focused on DSP1 and only on DSP1 and framed it in such a way that only petty sticklers to the law could object. This is a war after all!
Meanwhile, some senior Republicans are wagging their finger over the affair, but nothing will come of it. Unless further leaks occur with even more aggregious law-breaking — like something involving sex. With few if any exceptions, they will uphold the king’s perogative.