Jan 28, 3:13 AM EST
Arizona senator defense use of domestic eavesdropping
MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., defends the use of domestic eavesdropping to monitor communications from suspected terrorists but says Congress should find ways to increase oversight without jeopardizing the effectiveness of the controversial program.
Kyl said the electronic surveillance program launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks does not violate the Constitution or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
Congress should explore ways to provide better oversight of the program without revealing information that would be helpful to terrorists, according to Kyl, who is up for re-election this year.
However, Kyl said Congress is notorious for leaking classified information.
"My own hope is that we find a bipartisan way to ensure that there is good oversight over activities that can't easily be dealt with prospectively," Kyl said.
President Bush has launched an aggressive defense of his decision to allow the National Security Agency to, without a warrant, monitor communications from suspected terrorists overseas to people in the United States.
Applying the same search warrant standards used in a criminal investigation to counterterrorism activities is not feasible, Kyl said.
"If you can't use these kinds of interception techniques for intelligence purposes, if you have to apply law enforcement techniques to it, then you are going to lose the biggest tool you have against terrorism, which is intelligence," said Kyl, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings on the program.