WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said surveillance programs authorized by the White House guard the privacy of the American people.
The administration has been defending a National Security Agency program that Bush put into action after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Under the program, revealed by The New York Times in December, communications with suspected terrorists could be monitored even if one end of the conversation was in the United States.
Last week, USA Today said the program involved a vast database of telephone calls made in the United States. Bush denied that intelligence personnel were "trolling" for information on regular citizens.
"I've also been clear about the fact that we do not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval and that this government will continue to guard the privacy of the American people," Bush said Tuesday. "But if al-Qaida is calling the United States, we want to know and we want to know why."
Bush said the NSA program is "designed to protect the American people" from future terror attacks.
