Would NSA Surveillance Have Stopped 9/11 Plot? - Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst [View all]

[WillyT]

Would NSA surveillance have stopped 9/11 plot?
By Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst
updated 10:19 AM EST, Mon December 30, 2013

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(CNN) -- The Obama administration has framed its defense of the controversial bulk collection of all American phone records as necessary to prevent a future 9/11.

During a House Intelligence Committee hearing on June 18, NSA director Gen. Keith Alexander said, "Let me start by saying that I would much rather be here today debating this point than trying to explain how we failed to prevent another 9/11."

This closely mirrors talking points by the National Security Agency about how to defend the program.

In the talking points, NSA officials are encouraged to use "sound bites that resonate," specifically, "I much prefer to be here today explain these programs, than explaining another 9/11 event that we were not able to prevent."

On Friday in New York, Judge William H. Pauley III ruled that NSA's bulk collection of American telephone records is lawful. He cited Alexander's testimony and quoted him saying, "We couldn't connect the dots because we didn't have the dots."

But is it really the case that the U.S. intelligence community didn't have the dots in the lead up to 9/11? Hardly. In fact, the intelligence community provided repeated strategic warning in the summer of 9/11...

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More: http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/30/opinion/bergen-nsa-surveillance-september-11/