Senate to investigate government privacy violations against American journalists and others in Iraq

Senator Jay Rockefeller, (D) West Virgina--Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee
Photo by Dennis Cook, AP

Article by Mike Schottenstein

The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating claims that the National Security Agency eavesdropped on private conversations made by journalists, people in the military and aid workers in Iraq, according to a report by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP).

President Bush initially authorized the program to monitor calls from suspected terrorists without warrants, but two people who worked at the NSA's monitoring facility in Georgia say they were ordered to listen to non-suspects, as well, the RCFP report says. Adrienne Kinne was linguist working for the army from 2001-2003. She says she received a Joint Service Achievement Medal from the National Security Agency (NSA) for her work in monitoring the calls. Kinne told Brian Ross of ABC's Nightline that the award came at a time when she was listening in on calls from "members of the military, journalists, and aid workers."

David Murfee Faulk worked at the NSA facility for four years. He told Ross that people in the program would sometimes listen to calls that contained "pillow talk" or "phone sex" from military officers or aid workers for fun. Both Faulk and Kinne told Ross they questioned the legality of what they were doing to their superiors, but were told to continue the monitoring without changes.

Spokesmen for former NSA director, and current CIA Director, Michael Hayden deny that any privacy laws were broken during the program and Faulk says that some good things did come from the monitoring, Nightline reported. The NSA did sometimes find out where some weapons were located and the military was then able to disarm bombs before they went off.

The Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), says his staff is investigating the situation and that, "Any time there is an allegation regarding abuse of the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, it is a very serious matter."