NSA says it will not spy on Americans

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NSA says it will not spy on Americans

Updated 7:38 PM ET December 6, 1999By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Security Agency, which uses spy 
satellites and foreign listening posts to monitor threats to U.S. security, 
denied Monday that it intended to begin spying on Americans at home.

Newsweek magazine in its Dec. 13 issue said the NSA was drafting a memorandum 
of understanding to clarify ways in which it could help the FBI track 
terrorists and criminals in the United States.

"Under Executive Order, NSA is authorized to provide technical assistance to 
law enforcement," a statement from the agency said. "Any assistance NSA 
provides is performed in accordance with federal law and regulations."

The NSA and CIA are supposed to operate overseas and not spy on Americans 
domestically, while the FBI investigates federal crimes inside the United 
States.

The Newsweek article said there was a new alliance between the NSA and FBI 
and posed the question: "In their zeal, will the crime-fighters and 
electronic sleuths illegally spy on U.S. citizens?"

But Judith Emmel, NSA spokeswoman, said the intelligence agency would not be 
snooping on Americans in the United States.

"The National Security Agency operates in strict accordance with U.S. laws 
and regulations in protecting the privacy rights of U.S. persons," she said. 
"Its activities are conducted with the highest constitutional, legal and 
ethical standards."

The Newsweek article created a stir among some observers, who saw any link 
between the NSA and FBI on domestic issues as opening the door to possible 
infringement of individual rights to privacy.

Harvey Kushner, chair of the criminal justice department at Long Island 
University, said if the NSA helped the FBI track terrorists in the United 
States it would set "a dangerous precedent" and violate the agency's mission.

"Do we really want the NSA to be spying on U.S. citizens?" Kushner said in a 
statement reacting to the magazine article.

"Where will it stop? American public opinion over the years has 
overwhelmingly spoken against covert and clandestine agencies mucking around 
in domestic affairs," he said.

One intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, after making 
checks expressed lack of knowledge of the memorandum of understanding that 
Newsweek referred to in its article.