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 Home > News & Policies > January 2006

For Immediate Release
January 24, 2006

Setting the Record Straight: Charges Of "Domestic Spying"

     Fact sheet Setting the Record Straight

Setting The Record Straight On The Scope Of The NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program.

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Calls The NSA Program A "Domestic Spying Program." "That is why Americans of all backgrounds and political parties are concerned about the NSA's domestic spying program." (Sen. Harry Reid, Press Release, 1/23/06)

But The President's Authorization Only Covers International Communications In Which One Party Is Suspected Of Links To Al Qaeda Or Related Terrorist Organizations.

  • Deputy Director Of National Intelligence General Michael Hayden: "One End Of Any Call Targeted Under This Program Is Always Outside The United States." GEN. HAYDEN: "I don't think domestic spying makes it. One end of any call targeted under this program is always outside the United States. I've flown a lot in this country, and I've taken literally hundreds of domestic flights. I have never boarded a domestic flight in the United States of America and landed in Waziristan. In the same way - and I'm speaking illustratively here now, this is just an example - if NSA had intercepted al Qaeda Ops Chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Karachi talking to Mohamed Atta in Laurel, Maryland, in say, July of 2001 - if NSA had done that, and the results had been made public, I'm convinced that the crawler on all the 7 by 24 news networks would not have been 'NSA domestic spying.'" (General Michael Hayden, Remarks, Washington, DC, 1/23/06)

DEFINITION: Domestic Vs. International.

  • Domestic Calls are calls inside the United States. International Calls are calls either to or from the United States.
  • Domestic Flights are flights from one American city to another. International Flights are flights to or from the United States.
  • Domestic Mail consists of letters and packages sent within the United States. International Mail consists of letters and packages sent to or from the United States.
  • Domestic Commerce involves business within the United States. International Commerce involves business between the United States and other countries.

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