A Note For Government Terrorist Trackers
You want a good target group for suspicious activity? Look at new applications for Qwest phone service from existing homes that haven’t changed owners:
Among the big telecommunications companies, only Qwest has refused to help the NSA, the sources said. According to multiple sources, Qwest declined to participate because it was uneasy about the legal implications of handing over customer information to the government without warrants.
Qwest’s refusal to participate has left the NSA with a hole in its database. Based in Denver, Qwest provides local phone service to 14 million customers in 14 states in the West and Northwest. But AT&T and Verizon also provide some services — primarily long-distance and wireless — to people who live in Qwest’s region. Therefore, they can provide the NSA with at least some access in that area.
My tongue is, of course, well in cheek (or is it?)…
UPDATE 4:49 p.m.: Okay, I’ve read through all of the fairly lengthy original article now, and it’s clear that this is a part of the domestic program authorized by President Bush post-9/11. In other words, as too many steves mentioned in another comment thread, this is not news in terms of a new program being revealed so much as it is news as to more details of the program itself.
Here’s more on the Qwest angle:
One major telecommunications company declined to participate in the program: Qwest.According to sources familiar with the events, Qwest’s CEO at the time, Joe Nacchio, was deeply troubled by the NSA’s assertion that Qwest didn’t need a court order — or approval under FISA — to proceed. Adding to the tension, Qwest was unclear about who, exactly, would have access to its customers’ information and how that information might be used.
Financial implications were also a concern, the sources said. Carriers that illegally divulge calling information can be subjected to heavy fines. The NSA was asking Qwest to turn over millions of records. The fines, in the aggregate, could have been substantial.
The NSA told Qwest that other government agencies, including the FBI, CIA and DEA, also might have access to the database, the sources said. As a matter of practice, the NSA regularly shares its information — known as “product” in intelligence circles — with other intelligence groups. Even so, Qwest’s lawyers were troubled by the expansiveness of the NSA request, the sources said.
The NSA, which needed Qwest’s participation to completely cover the country, pushed back hard.
Trying to put pressure on Qwest, NSA representatives pointedly told Qwest that it was the lone holdout among the big telecommunications companies. It also tried appealing to Qwest’s patriotic side: In one meeting, an NSA representative suggested that Qwest’s refusal to contribute to the database could compromise national security, one person recalled.
In addition, the agency suggested that Qwest’s foot-dragging might affect its ability to get future classified work with the government. Like other big telecommunications companies, Qwest already had classified contracts and hoped to get more.
Unable to get comfortable with what NSA was proposing, Qwest’s lawyers asked NSA to take its proposal to the FISA court. According to the sources, the agency refused.
The NSA’s explanation did little to satisfy Qwest’s lawyers. “They told (Qwest) they didn’t want to do that because FISA might not agree with them,” one person recalled. For similar reasons, this person said, NSA rejected Qwest’s suggestion of getting a letter of authorization from the U.S. attorney general’s office. A second person confirmed this version of events.
In June 2002, Nacchio resigned amid allegations that he had misled investors about Qwest’s financial health. But Qwest’s legal questions about the NSA request remained.
Unable to reach agreement, Nacchio’s successor, Richard Notebaert, finally pulled the plug on the NSA talks in late 2004, the sources said.
Doesn’t exactly put the Administration in a good light, does it? I mean, it appears to add weight to the allegation that Bush bypassed FISA because the FISA courts would have refused to give their sanction – watch out, folks, I feel a stand coming on! (More later)…
[...] That much is clear, the two topics are slightly different, and therefore this second leak is particularly egregious. While I am adjusting my view on the specific details, I am not changing my position this was an incredibly dangerous leak. The details about Qwest not participating was horrendous and put Qwest and its customers in a terrible situation. Contrary to the liberal mutterings I am not pushing on Qwest one way or the other. The leak is what is disturbing. And Qwest could pay a terrible price. I know enough right now to move all communications I want hidden from federal scrutiny to Qwest – ASAP. I also know now that running an operation which I want undetected by the Feds has a better chance of being hidden in the Qwest service area. [...]
Dude, what about people who just believe in the concept of personal liberty? Are they terrorists, and thus should be subject to government searches and such? Just because they want to subscribe to a telecom company that doesn’t sell their information to the highest bidder?
Given that the other phone companies have just exposed themselves to millions of dollars in legal claims, it sounds like Qwest was the only one of the bunch with any sense.