WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says President Bush's secret program of wiretapping was necessary for national security.
"The president sits in the Oval (Office) every day and he sees a stream of terrorist threat information coming in," Rice said on "Fox News Sunday." "And so, your desire or your obligation as president, your obligation as an officer serving the United States, is to get as much information as possible as to what those threats might be and prevent an attack."
Rice said the war on terror is different from previous wars and demands different tactics.
She told NBC's Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" the president felt he needed to prevent the United States from being treated as a "safe haven" where people with terrorist links can communicate freely to people outside the country.
"This is not law enforcement of the kind where if people commit a crime you then investigate that crime and bring them to justice," said Rice. "This is a case where if people commit the crime then thousands die, and that's what we learned on Sept. 11."
