In defending the NSA’s sweeping collection of Americans’
phone call records, Obama administration officials have repeatedly
pointed
out how it could have helped thwart the 9/11 attacks: If only the
surveillance program been in place before Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. authorities
would have been able to identify one of the future hijackers who was living in
San Diego.
Last weekend, former Vice President Dick Cheney invoked
the same argument.
It is impossible to know for certain whether screening phone records would have stopped the attacks -- the program didn’t exist at the time. It’s also not clear whether the program would have given the NSA abilities it didn’t already possess with respect to the case. Details of the current program and as well as NSA’s role in intelligence gathering around the 9/11 plots remain secret.
But one thing we do know: Those making the argument have ignored a key aspect of historical record.
http://www.propublica.org/article/fact-check-the-nsa-and-sept-11
It is impossible to know for certain whether screening phone records would have stopped the attacks -- the program didn’t exist at the time. It’s also not clear whether the program would have given the NSA abilities it didn’t already possess with respect to the case. Details of the current program and as well as NSA’s role in intelligence gathering around the 9/11 plots remain secret.
But one thing we do know: Those making the argument have ignored a key aspect of historical record.
http://www.propublica.org/article/fact-check-the-nsa-and-sept-11
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