CIA Pick Hayden Major NSA Figure

From Wikipedia:

He previously served as director of the National Security Agency (NSA), having assumed that position in 1999. During his tenure as director, the longest in the history of the agency, he oversaw the controversial warrantless wiretapping program.

Interesting Quote from Hayden regarding violations of the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution: From eNotes.com:

Other commentators are concerned that using satellites to gather intelligence would threaten civil liberties. Some claim that satellites are already being used to spy on American citizens. In 1948 the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) created a global spy system, code-named ECHELON, in cooperation with the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Stations positioned in these and other nations capture satellite, microwave, cellular, and fibre-optic communications. After being decoded by NSA computers, analysts forward flagged messages to the intelligence agencies that request them. According to Patrick S. Poole, deputy director of the Center for Technology Policy, beyond intercepting messages from terrorists and rogue states, ECHELON is being used in “the regular discovery of domestic surveillance targeted at American civilians for reasons of ‘unpopular’ political affiliation or for no probable cause at all—in violations of the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.”

American intelligence agencies, however, deny such accusations. “We are not out there as a vacuum cleaner,” claims former NSA Director Michael Hayden. “We don’t have that capability and we don’t want that capability.”

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