Some NSA officials considered the Bush-authorized spying program illegal and refused to participate, according to a former Bush administration official cited by the Times. "Before the 2004 election, the official said, some NSA personnel worried that the program might come under scrutiny by congressional or criminal investigators if Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, was elected president," the Times reported.
It was during that time period when the controversy over Bush's order began to surface. "In mid-2004, concerns about the program expressed by national security officials, government lawyers and a judge prompted the Bush administration to suspend elements of the program and revamp it," the Times reported.
The information also was making its way to some reporters and a version of the Times story reportedly could have been published before Election 2004. But it remains unclear how much detail the extra year of reporting added to the Times article. When finally published, the story started on Page One and covered a full page inside.
A bigger question for American citizens, however, may be why leading U.S. news organizations, such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, seem so committed to advancing the Bush administration's foreign-policy agenda -- while also protecting its political flanks.
Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His new book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com or Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'.Next Page 1 | 2
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Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at
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