Bush spoke to reporters on 1 January at a military medical center in Texas, where he was visiting troops wounded in Iraq. He described the spy program as "limited" and said it tracks only incoming calls to the United States of people with known links to the Al-Qaeda terror network.
"I think most Americans understand the need to find out what the enemy is thinking. And that's what we are doing. We're at war with a bunch of cold-blooded killers who will kill in a moment's notice. I have a responsibility, obviously, to act within the law, which I am doing," Bush said.
Some lawmakers in Congress have said they plan to hold hearings to probe whether Bush had the constitutional and congressional authority to authorize the domestic eavesdropping program without a court order following the 11 September 2001 attacks.
(Reuters/AP)
RFE/RL's World: 2005 In Pictures
A slideshow of images related to the top news stories of 2005 from throughout RFE/RL's broadcast region with links to RFE/RL's reporting.
See also:
2005 In Review: Central Asia Witnesses Revolution, Continued Crackdown
2005 In Review: Does The Presence Of Western Election Observers Make A Difference?
2005 In Review: The Geopolitical Game In Central Asia
2005 In Review: Migrants, Refugees Victims Of Incoherent Laws In Post-Soviet States
2005 In Review: The Transformation Of Television In Russia
2005 In Review: Russia's Centralization Gathers Pace
2005 In Review: A Year Of Hopes, Disappointments For Afghans And Iraqis