Bush Gave U.S. Agency Authorization To Spy On Americans

Months after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, President Bush signed an order giving the National Security Agency authorization to eavesdrop on Americans and other people in the United States to look for evidence of potential terrorist activity without first obtaining search warrants.

According to a New York Times report, the presidential order, signed in 2002, has given the agency the right to monitor international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds, maybe even thousands of people inside the United States in a search for ties to 'dirty numbers' potentially linked to the al Qaeda terror network. The targets included U.S. citizens, permanent legal residents, tourists and other foreigners, raising serious concerns within the administration — and from the few members of Congress who knew about it — over whether the order crossed legal boundaries and trampled civil liberties.

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