The three telecommunications companies
[AT&T, Verizon and
BellSouth] are working under contract with the NSA, which launched the program
in 2001 shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the sources
said.
The problem with that story is you don't get such a
records
collection program setup *that* quickly. In order to make it
work, the
call records (the metadata) must be captured from
the telephone switches of
which there are many thousands in the US. Just getting the boxes setup,
networked, and tested
takes days. A massive database to store all of the
calls
would also be setup (MARINA). All doable, once you convince the telcos to
do so, and if there is money coming from NSA of
the right amount, the telcos
could be convinced.
But Qwest refused.
Link
Former
Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, convicted of insider trading in April 2007, alleged in
appeal documents that the NSA requested that Qwest participate in its
wiretapping program more than six months before September 11, 2001. Nacchio
recalls the meeting as occurring on February 27, 2001. Nacchio further claims
that the NSA cancelled a lucrative contract with Qwest as a result of Qwest's
refusal to participate in the wiretapping program.
And others
say it was before 9-11 also:
Link
By Andrew Harris - June 30, 2006 18:46 EDT
June 30
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it
set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal
court.
The allegation is part of a court filing adding AT&T, the
nation's largest telephone company, as a defendant in a breach of privacy case
filed earlier this month on behalf of Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth
Corp. customers. The suit alleges that the three carriers, the NSA and President
George W. Bush violated the Telecommunications Act of 1934 and the U.S.
Constitution, and seeks money damages.
"The Bush Administration asserted
this became necessary after 9/11," plaintiff's lawyer Carl Mayer said in a
telephone interview. "This undermines that assertion."
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You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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