File Photo: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan. (AFP)
Washington:
CIA chief John Brennan warned Sunday that allowing vital surveillance programs to expire could increase terror threats, as the US Senate convened for a showdown over whether to renew the controversial provisions.
With key counterterrorism programs set to expire at midnight Sunday, the top intelligence official made a final pitch for Senate action, arguing that the bulk data collection of telephone records of millions of Americans unconnected to terrorism has not abused civil liberties and only serves to safeguard citizens.
"This is something that we can't afford to do right now," Brennan said of allowing the counterterrorism provisions to expire at midnight Sunday.
"Because if you look at the horrific terrorist attacks and violence being perpetrated around the globe, we need to keep our country safe, and our oceans are not keeping us safe the way they did century ago," he said on CBS talk show "Face the Nation."
Brennan added that groups like Islamic State have followed the developments "very carefully" and are "looking for the seams to operate."
The House has already passed a reform bill, the USA Freedom Act, that would end the telephone data dragnet by the National Security Agency and require a court order for the NSA to access specific records from the data retained by telecommunications companies.
If no action is taken by the Senate on Sunday, authorities will be forced to shut down the bulk collection program and two other provisions, which allow roving wiretaps of terror suspects who change their mobile phone numbers and the tracking of lone-wolf suspects.
A senior administration official said switches would be turned off for the bulk collection servers beginning at 3:59 pm (1959 GMT) Sunday, and any collection after midnight would be deemed illegal, without congressional authorization.
"I do believe we have the votes" to pass the Freedom Act, Republican Senator Mike Lee, who supports ending NSA metadata collection, told CNN's State of the Union.
"At this point I think the question is not about whether we will get it passed, but when."
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican 2016 presidential candidate adamantly opposed to reauthorizing the surveillance, is threatening to use his parliamentary prerogative to delay votes on the reform bill or an extension of the original USA Patriot Act.
That could force the counterterrorism provisions to lapse until Wednesday, and possibly later.
Political 'grandstanding' over security?
Brennan did not mention Paul by name, but he expressed exasperation over the politicization of important programs which he insisted "have not been abused" by US authorities.
"Unfortunately I think there is a little too much political grandstanding and crusading for ideological causes that have really fueled the debate on this issue," he said.
Ex-NSA chief Michael Hayden, also a former CIA director under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, equated a temporary lapse as "giving up threads" in a broader protective fabric.
"It may not make a difference for a while. Then again, it might," he told CNN's State of the Union.
"Over the longer term, I'm willing to wager, it will indeed make a difference."
Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, agreed with Lee that it is "an important step" to stop the government storage of metadata, leaving it instead with the telecommunications companies.
But King expressed concerns with the Freedom Act, noting the reform does not compel companies to hold data for a long period of time.
"There should be some reasonable requirement for holding the data if, indeed, you think the program has value, and I do," King told CNN.
With key counterterrorism programs set to expire at midnight Sunday, the top intelligence official made a final pitch for Senate action, arguing that the bulk data collection of telephone records of millions of Americans unconnected to terrorism has not abused civil liberties and only serves to safeguard citizens.
"This is something that we can't afford to do right now," Brennan said of allowing the counterterrorism provisions to expire at midnight Sunday.
"Because if you look at the horrific terrorist attacks and violence being perpetrated around the globe, we need to keep our country safe, and our oceans are not keeping us safe the way they did century ago," he said on CBS talk show "Face the Nation."
Brennan added that groups like Islamic State have followed the developments "very carefully" and are "looking for the seams to operate."
The House has already passed a reform bill, the USA Freedom Act, that would end the telephone data dragnet by the National Security Agency and require a court order for the NSA to access specific records from the data retained by telecommunications companies.
If no action is taken by the Senate on Sunday, authorities will be forced to shut down the bulk collection program and two other provisions, which allow roving wiretaps of terror suspects who change their mobile phone numbers and the tracking of lone-wolf suspects.
A senior administration official said switches would be turned off for the bulk collection servers beginning at 3:59 pm (1959 GMT) Sunday, and any collection after midnight would be deemed illegal, without congressional authorization.
"I do believe we have the votes" to pass the Freedom Act, Republican Senator Mike Lee, who supports ending NSA metadata collection, told CNN's State of the Union.
"At this point I think the question is not about whether we will get it passed, but when."
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican 2016 presidential candidate adamantly opposed to reauthorizing the surveillance, is threatening to use his parliamentary prerogative to delay votes on the reform bill or an extension of the original USA Patriot Act.
That could force the counterterrorism provisions to lapse until Wednesday, and possibly later.
Political 'grandstanding' over security?
Brennan did not mention Paul by name, but he expressed exasperation over the politicization of important programs which he insisted "have not been abused" by US authorities.
"Unfortunately I think there is a little too much political grandstanding and crusading for ideological causes that have really fueled the debate on this issue," he said.
Ex-NSA chief Michael Hayden, also a former CIA director under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, equated a temporary lapse as "giving up threads" in a broader protective fabric.
"It may not make a difference for a while. Then again, it might," he told CNN's State of the Union.
"Over the longer term, I'm willing to wager, it will indeed make a difference."
Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, agreed with Lee that it is "an important step" to stop the government storage of metadata, leaving it instead with the telecommunications companies.
But King expressed concerns with the Freedom Act, noting the reform does not compel companies to hold data for a long period of time.
"There should be some reasonable requirement for holding the data if, indeed, you think the program has value, and I do," King told CNN.
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