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Lopsided vote in US Senate to confirm NSA spy chief to head CIA
General Michael Hayden was confirmed as the next CIA director on Friday by a 78-15 vote in the US Senate. Twenty-six Democrats and 1 independent joined 51 Republicans in a bipartisan show of support for George W. Bush’s nominee to head the spy agency. Hayden replaces Porter Goss, who resigned under pressure from the White House earlier this month.
As former head of the National Security Agency (NSA), Hayden was the principal architect of the recently exposed spying program initiated shortly after 9/11, under which the NSA has been secretly, without court warrants, tracking the telephone calls of over 200 million Americans. As reported by USA Today earlier this month, the dragnet has amassed a huge database of telephone records handed over to the NSA by the largest US telecommunications companies.
Last December, the New York Times reported on another NSA program to secretly eavesdrop on the phone calls of US citizens without a warrant. Both of these programs, put into operation under Hayden’s watch, had been hidden from the American people for more than four years. They stand in flagrant violation of constitutional safeguards against government invasions of privacy as well as federal laws governing telecommunications and domestic surveillance.
Democratic leaders indicated from the start of the confirmation process that they would not seek to block Hayden’s nomination. A 12-3 vote on the Senate Intelligence Committee last Tuesday set the stage for Friday’s easy confirmation by the full Senate. Four Democrats joined the eight Republicans on the committee to recommend Hayden’s approval. (See “Democrats ensure confirmation of NSA spy chief to head CIA”)
The vote to confirm Hayden shows the support among leading Democrats for the buildup of police-state measures against the US population. It underscores the existence of a consensus within the American ruling elite as a whole for the assault on democratic rights being pursued by Bush administration in the name of the “war on terror.”
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/may2006/hayd-m29.shtml
Last December, the New York Times reported on another NSA program to secretly eavesdrop on the phone calls of US citizens without a warrant. Both of these programs, put into operation under Hayden’s watch, had been hidden from the American people for more than four years. They stand in flagrant violation of constitutional safeguards against government invasions of privacy as well as federal laws governing telecommunications and domestic surveillance.
Democratic leaders indicated from the start of the confirmation process that they would not seek to block Hayden’s nomination. A 12-3 vote on the Senate Intelligence Committee last Tuesday set the stage for Friday’s easy confirmation by the full Senate. Four Democrats joined the eight Republicans on the committee to recommend Hayden’s approval. (See “Democrats ensure confirmation of NSA spy chief to head CIA”)
The vote to confirm Hayden shows the support among leading Democrats for the buildup of police-state measures against the US population. It underscores the existence of a consensus within the American ruling elite as a whole for the assault on democratic rights being pursued by Bush administration in the name of the “war on terror.”
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/may2006/hayd-m29.shtml
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<i>The vote to confirm Hayden shows the support among leading Democrats for the buildup of police-state measures against the US population. It underscores the existence of a consensus within the American ruling elite as a whole for the assault on democratic rights being pursued by Bush administration in the name of the “war on terror.”</i>
Or it might show a broad fear of the idea of the CIA being headed by another corrupt Iran Contra conspirator or a kid who proved his loyalty to Bush during fundraisers. In this case the intelligence provided to the white house might make it seem that planting cartoons in Iranian goverment newspapers to get the Iranian Aziri population to riot is a smart move. Realistic estimates of the pace of the Iranian nuclear energy program might turn to fantasy again. And nuking Iran might work, in fantasy CIA estimates.
It may also show a recognition that if Gen. Hayden wasn`t the architect of this one* unconstitutional and illegal program, that (vice) president Cheney would have designed it (Warning:pro confirmation leak). In this case the program could easily be used to look for dissent within the Bush administration. John bolton has already used NSA intercepts to spy on colleages like Powell.
If Cheney would have set up this program then it might activly look for and target potential wistleblowers. The FBI already has been using telephone traffic data to search for sources on stories that do not follow the GOP party line. Gen. Hayden may have well realised that the NSA is to powerfull to be under complete white house control in a time where the New York times waits a full year before revealing illegal programs like this.
And can you speak of a consensus if Specter doesn`t vote along?
*) The early sources are quite clear on tha fact that the listening in part of the program is based on traffic analysis of phone records. This suggests this is one program under one presidential order.
Or it might show a broad fear of the idea of the CIA being headed by another corrupt Iran Contra conspirator or a kid who proved his loyalty to Bush during fundraisers. In this case the intelligence provided to the white house might make it seem that planting cartoons in Iranian goverment newspapers to get the Iranian Aziri population to riot is a smart move. Realistic estimates of the pace of the Iranian nuclear energy program might turn to fantasy again. And nuking Iran might work, in fantasy CIA estimates.
It may also show a recognition that if Gen. Hayden wasn`t the architect of this one* unconstitutional and illegal program, that (vice) president Cheney would have designed it (Warning:pro confirmation leak). In this case the program could easily be used to look for dissent within the Bush administration. John bolton has already used NSA intercepts to spy on colleages like Powell.
If Cheney would have set up this program then it might activly look for and target potential wistleblowers. The FBI already has been using telephone traffic data to search for sources on stories that do not follow the GOP party line. Gen. Hayden may have well realised that the NSA is to powerfull to be under complete white house control in a time where the New York times waits a full year before revealing illegal programs like this.
And can you speak of a consensus if Specter doesn`t vote along?
*) The early sources are quite clear on tha fact that the listening in part of the program is based on traffic analysis of phone records. This suggests this is one program under one presidential order.
For more information:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/news.php
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