http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/3/2006-05-01/25244
U.S. wiretapping flap had sparked questions here
May 01, 2006
(CP)
Allegations of illegal eavesdropping by U.S.
spies prompted pointed questions from the federal
watchdog who oversees their Canadian
counterparts, newly released records reveal.
Correspondence obtained by The Canadian
Press shows the public controversy about U.S.
National Security Agency spying on American
citizens led to a series of highly-classified exchanges in Ottawa.
John Adams, chief of the ultra-secret
Communications Security Establishment, was forced
to respond to detailed inquiries spanning two
months from the office of Antonio Lamer, the
former Supreme Court chief justice who, as CSE
commissioner, serves as watchdog over the spy outfit.
Portions of the correspondence, including
even the security classifications stamped on the
letters, were blacked out due to the informationÂ’s sensitivity.
But it is clear from the records—obtained
under the Access to Information Act—that Lamer’s
office wanted to ensure the CSE, a wing of the
Defence Department, wasnÂ’t contravening Canadian
law by conducting excessive snooping in the fight against terrorism.
Joanne Weeks, executive director of the
commissionerÂ’s office, said in an interview she
was surprised by the Defence DepartmentÂ’s release of the letters.
The Ottawa-based CSE monitors foreign radio,
telephone, fax, satellite, and computer traffic
for information of interest to Canada. The
intelligence is used in support of Canadian
crime-fighting, defence, and trade policies.
Military listening posts assist the agencyÂ’s
efforts to eavesdrop on foreign states and
organizations, as well as on suspected
terrorists, drug traffickers, smugglers, and other criminals.
Computer specialists and language experts
use cutting-edge tools to sift the intercepted
data and create thousands of secret intelligence
reports each year for government agencies.
The CSE works closely with the signals
intelligence services of allied countries,
including the massive Maryland-based National
Security Agency, which boasts more than 30,000 employees.
In December, the New York Times disclosed
U.S. President George W. Bush had authorized the
NSA to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside
the United States without court-approved warrants.
Despite harsh condemnation from privacy
advocates, U.S. government officials have
defended the program as constitutional.
The CSE has long been prohibited from
directing its surveillance at Canadians or anybody in Canada.
However, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 gave
the CSE authority to tap into the conversations
and messages of foreigners even if those
communications began or ended in Canada.
For instance, the CSE now could intercept a
phone call made by an al-Qaida operative from
somewhere in the Middle East to Toronto.
Various safeguards, including ministerial
approval, were built into the practice. Still,
some critics consider this sort of eavesdropping
as potentially dangerous to the civil liberties
of Canadians since the CSE would not require a judge-approved warrant.
This led to suggestions that the sort of
controversial spying under attack in the United
States also may be taking place in Canada.
Weeks sent the first letter from the
commissionerÂ’s office to the CSEÂ’s Adams on Jan. 10. He replied 10 days later.
A meeting between Adams and the watchdog
took place Jan. 26, and there were two follow-up responses from the CSE chief.
Both Weeks and CSE spokesman Adrian Simpson
cited national security in declining to discuss
details of the written exchanges.
However, one matter that appeared to pique
the interest of the commissionerÂ’s office was a
2002 published report—never confirmed—that CSE
had helped convict a U.S. man of sending illicit
cash to suspected Hezbollah terrorists.
On Feb. 15, Lamer evidently wrote Adams
about this allegation and another media story.
In his March 9 reply, Adams tried to
reassure the commissioner that nothing improper
had occurred, saying, “Our legislation and public
profile have driven the creation of extensive
internal measures aimed at ensuring respect for
the law and the rights of Canadians.”
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:27 CST