Bush admits eavesdropping, slams senators for blocking Patriot Act

Dec 17, 2005, 17:23 GMT

Washington - U.S. President George W. Bush has admitted allowing the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens in 2002 and in an address delivered to the nation on Saturday, he slated senators who have blocked renewal of an act that would allow such measures to continue.

In his radio speech, which in an unusual move was also broadcast live on television, Bush said the secret eavesdropping operations had been conducted in line with the law and was aimed at preventing further terrorist attacks.

Such tactics, conducted under the Patriotic Act passed in the wake of 9/11, would continue to be necessary to protect the U.S. from future attacks, Bush warned.

The eavesdropping operations, which monitored the international communications of U.S. citizens with suspected links to al-Qaeda or other terrorist outfits, were reviewed every 45 days and each review was overseen by top legal officials including the U.S. attorney general, Bush said.

Describing the operations as 'a highly classified programme that is crucial to our nation's security,' Bush said he had reauthorized the NSA's activities over 30 times since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Reports of the secret operations surfaced in U.S. media earlier this week just two weeks before key provisions in the act are due to expire.

While the U.S. House of Representatives approved renewing the act, the U.S. senate on Friday refused to extend the expiring portions.

In his address Saturday, Bush described as 'irresponsible', the decision by a minority of senators to block the act's renewal.

'That decision is irresponsible and it endangers the lives of our citizens. The senators who are filibustering must stop their delaying tactics and the senate must reauthorize the Patriot Act,' he insisted.

The senate voted 52-47 Friday to end debate on the matter, falling short of the 60-seat majority required to force a vote to renew the act.

Sceptics are uneasy about some of the security provisions in the act such as those that allow the FBI to seize business and personal records without court approval.

Urging senators to end their filibustering, Bush noted that '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,' he concluded.