Text 5057, 92 rader
Skriven 2007-07-28 23:31:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070728) for Sat, 2007 Jul 28
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President's Radio Address
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 28, 2007

President's Radio Address

˙˙President's Radio Address
˙˙Audio ˙˙En Espa¤ol

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: National Security

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I visited with troops at Charleston
Air Force Base. These fine men and women are serving courageously to
protect our country against dangerous enemies. The terrorist network that
struck America on September the 11th wants to strike our country again. To
stop them, our military, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals
need the best possible information about who the terrorists are, where they
are, and what they are planning.

One of the most important ways we can gather that information is by
monitoring terrorist communications. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act -- also known as FISA -- provides a critical legal foundation that
allows our intelligence community to collect this information while
protecting the civil liberties of Americans. But this important law was
written in 1978, and it addressed the technologies of that era. This law is
badly out of date -- and Congress must act to modernize it.

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˙ Today we face sophisticated terrorists who use disposable cell phones and
the Internet to communicate with each other, recruit operatives, and plan
attacks on our country. Technologies like these were not available when
FISA was passed nearly 30 years ago, and FISA has not kept up with new
technological developments. As a result, our Nation is hampered in its
ability to gain the vital intelligence we need to keep the American people
safe. In his testimony to Congress in May, Mike McConnell, the Director of
National Intelligence, put it this way: We are "significantly burdened in
capturing overseas communications of foreign terrorists planning to conduct
attacks inside the United States."

To fix this problem, my Administration has proposed a bill that would
modernize the FISA statute. This legislation is the product of months of
discussion with members of both parties in the House and the Senate -- and
it includes four key reforms: First, it brings FISA up to date with the
changes in communications technology that have taken place over the past
three decades. Second, it seeks to restore FISA to its original focus on
protecting the privacy interests of people inside the United States, so we
don't have to obtain court orders to effectively collect foreign
intelligence about foreign targets located in foreign locations. Third, it
allows the government to work more efficiently with private-sector entities
like communications providers, whose help is essential. And fourth, it will
streamline administrative processes so our intelligence community can
gather foreign intelligence more quickly and more effectively, while
protecting civil liberties.

Our intelligence community warns that under the current statute, we are
missing a significant amount of foreign intelligence that we should be
collecting to protect our country. Congress needs to act immediately to
pass this bill, so that our national security professionals can close
intelligence gaps and provide critical warning time for our country.

As the recent National Intelligence Estimate reported, America is in a
heightened threat environment. Reforming FISA will help our intelligence
professionals address those threats -- and they should not have to wait any
longer. Congress will soon be leaving for its August recess. I ask
Republicans and Democrats to work together to pass FISA modernization now,
before they leave town. Our national security depends on it.

Thank you for listening.

END

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