Radio Address by the President to the Nation (televised also)

[rodeodance]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051217.html

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 17, 2005

Radio Address by the President to the Nation
The Roosevelt Room


10:06 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.

......The authorization I gave the National Security Agency after September the 11th helped address that problem in a way that is fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities. The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9/11 hijackers will be identified and located in time. And the activities conducted under this authorization have helped detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad.

The activities I authorized are reviewed approximately every 45 days. Each review is based on a fresh intelligence assessment of terrorist threats to the continuity of our government and the threat of catastrophic damage to our homeland. During each assessment, previous activities under the authorization are reviewed. The review includes approval by our nation's top legal officials, including the Attorney General and the Counsel to the President. I have reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September the 11th attacks, and I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al Qaeda and related groups.

The NSA's activities under this authorization are thoroughly reviewed by the Justice Department and NSA's top legal officials, including NSA's general counsel and inspector general. Leaders in Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this authorization and the activities conducted under it. Intelligence officials involved in this activity also receive extensive training to ensure they perform their duties consistent with the letter and intent of the authorization.

This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power under our laws and Constitution to protect them and their civil liberties. And that is exactly what I will continue to do, so long as I'm the President of the United States.

Thank you.

END 10:13 A.M. EST
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051217.html

[...of J.Temperance]

1. We know Junior's in trouble when he has to go on the TV to try and

Explain himself. His approval rating must be 20%

[ChowChowChow]

2. IMPEACH him already...this is too much!

[...of J.Temperance]

3. Unfortunately we have to regain the Congress first n/t

[truth2power]

4. John Yoo probably wrote that for him.

I can't stand that guy (Yoo). I think he's a fascist. How anyone can go through law school, pass the bar and have such contempt for the laws of this country is beyond me.

[petgoat]

5. Berkeley Students Protested in October

http://dailycal.org/article.php?id=20154



The protests were organized by The World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!,
a national group working toward massive demmonstrations at the time of the
State of the Union address in January.

http://www.worldcantwait.org/

They just ran a full-page ad in the NY Times on Monday:

http://worldcantwait.net/flier/nyt.pdf