Bush admits allowing wiretaps

WASHINGTON—President George W. Bush has said that he had authorized the use of highly secret wiretaps by the National Security Agency, saying the wiretaps have “saved American lives” in the US “war on terror.”
In a televised address, Bush confirmed media reports Friday that he had authorized the NSA, the government’s intensely secret electronic and satellite spy agency, to intercept communications by people living in the United States who are suspected of terrorist activities. “This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security,” Bush said Saturday of the controversial program. President Bush said Saturday he has no intention of stopping his personal authorizations of a post-Sept. 11 secret eavesdropping program in the U.S., lashing out at those involved in revealing it while defending it as crucial to preventing future attacks.
“This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security,” he said in a radio address delivered live from the White House’s Roosevelt Room. “This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives.—Agencies