Nsa famous quotes
Last updated: Sep 5, 2024
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I can assure you, this is not about spying on the American people.
-- Al Franken -
The surveillance state has run amok. Technology that's enabled us to send selfies 24/7 - not that valuable - has also enabled us to be spied upon us 24/7.
-- Alexis Ohanian -
We need trust among allies and partners. Such trust now has to be built anew.
-- Angela Merkel -
They need to review this secret world. We have an incredibly powerful government that gets on automatic pilot.
-- Bob Woodward -
Buy American Doesn’t Sell Well Anymore Because It Means Give A Copy To The NSA
-- Bruce Schneier -
There's something totally crazy about this.
-- Carl Bernstein -
Look at it this way: this administration is taking unprecedented steps to make sure that the government's secrets remain private while simultaneously invading the privacy of its citizens... Many innocents must be violated so that a few guilty people can be stopped. It's a digital stop-and-frisk...
-- Charles M. Blow -
The intelligence activities undertaken by the United States government are lawful, necessary and required to protect Americans from terrorist attacks
-- Dana Perino -
In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden's release of NSA material, and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers 40 years ago.
-- Daniel Ellsberg -
There is no more direct or honest person than Jim Clapper.
-- Dianne Feinstein -
I am not a high-tech techie, but I have been told that is not possible.
-- Dianne Feinstein -
It is abundantly clear that a total review of all intelligence programs is necessary so that members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are fully informed as to what is actually being carried out by the intelligence community.
-- Dianne Feinstein -
I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building.
-- Edward Snowden -
My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.
-- Edward Snowden -
I acted on my belief that the NSA's mass surveillance programs would not withstand a constitutional challenge, and that the American public deserved a chance to see these issues determined by open courts. Today, a secret program authorized by a secret court was, when exposed to the light of day, found to violate Americans' rights. It is the first of many.
-- Edward Snowden -
We watch our own people more closely than anyone else in the world.
-- Edward Snowden -
When Clapper raised his hand and lied to the American public, was anyone tried? Were any charges brought? Within 24 hours of going public, I had three charges against me.
-- Edward Snowden -
The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything.
-- Edward Snowden -
There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency.
-- Edward Snowden -
The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. If I wanted to see your emails or your wife's phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.
-- Edward Snowden -
The great fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change. [People] won't be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things And in the months ahead, the years ahead, it's only going to get worse. [The NSA will] say that because of the crisis, the dangers that we face in the world, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power, and there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turnkey tyranny.
-- Edward Snowden -
Encryption works. Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on. Unfortunately, endpoint security is so terrifically weak that NSA can frequently find ways around it.
-- Edward Snowden -
Congress must go further to protect the right to privacy, to end the NSA's dragnet surveillance of ordinary Americans, to make the intelligence community more transparent and accountable.
-- Elizabeth Warren -
With all do respect, senator, I don't think this is an appropriate setting for me to discuss that issue. I'd be more than glad to come back in an appropriate setting to discuss the issues that you have raised.
-- Eric Holder -
To those in the executive branch who say 'just trust us' when it comes to secret and warrantless surveillance of domestic communications, I say, 'Remember your history.'
-- Eric Holder -
What is at stake is preserving our relations with the United States. They should not be changed because of what has happened. But trust has to be restored and reinforced.
-- Francois Hollande -
The IRS targeting certain groups for harassment because of their politics would be unfair. If we found out the NSA was keeping special tabs on everyone who worshiped at a mosque or took a Bible trip through the Middle East, you'd have an uprising.
-- Gail Collins -
My own dream is that we discover that the NSA has been secretly keeping files on members of the National Rifle Association.
-- Gail Collins -
It’s just simply the fact that the NSA does not think anybody should be able to communicate anywhere on the Earth without them being able to invade it.
-- Glenn Greenwald -
The key question: will the NSA continue to monitor hundreds of millions of people without any suspicion? Under Obama's proposals: Yes.
-- Glenn Greenwald -
It's so much easier to debate people when you can pretend that they hold moronic position that they don't actually believe.
-- Glenn Greenwald -
What state surveillance actually is is best understood by the NSA's own documents and own words, which I think as you know I happen to have a lot of.
-- Glenn Greenwald -
What we revealed is that this spying system is devoted not to terrorists, but is directed to innocent people around the world. None of this has anything to do with terrorism. Is Angela Merkel a terrorist?
-- Glenn Greenwald -
Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations
-- Glenn Greenwald -
For senators to complain that they didn't know this was happening, we had many, many meetings that have been both classified and unclassified that members have been invited to.
-- Harry Reid -
What I said was, the NSA does not voyeuristically pore through U.S. citizens' e-mails. I stand by that.
-- James R. Clapper -
We must remain mindful of the potential impact of over-correcting the authorizations of the intelligence community.
-- James R. Clapper -
Some of you expressed surprise that I showed up-so many emails to read!
-- James R. Clapper -
Why did we not know that heads of state were being eavesdropped on, spied on? We are the intelligence committee and we didn't know that.
-- Jan Schakowsky -
As the Ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, I have been briefed since 2003 on a highly classified NSA foreign collection program that targeted Al Qaeda. I believe the program is essential to US national security and that its disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities.
-- Jane Harman -
The president assured the chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor.
-- Jay Carney -
... Clapper has been straight and direct in the answers that he's given, and has actively engaged in an effort to provide more information about the programs that have been revealed through the leak of classified information
-- Jay Carney -
Let me ask, who died and made him king? Who gave him the authority to endanger 300 million Americans? That's not the way it works, and if he thinks he can get away with that, he's got another think coming.
-- John Bolton -
There is no better illustration of that crisis than the fact that the president is openly violating our nation's laws by authorizing the NSA to engage in warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens.
-- John Conyers -
At least in Europe, we consider the right to privacy a fundamental right, and it is a very serious matter.
-- Jose Manuel Barroso -
I'm glad that the NSA is trying to find out what the terrorists are up to overseas and in our country. I'm glad that activity is going on, but it is limited to tracking people who are suspected to be terrorists and who they may be talking to... Yes, I am sure that that's what they're doing.
-- Lindsey Graham -
I hope we follow Mr. Snowden to the ends of the Earth to bring him to justice.
-- Lindsey Graham -
What we learned in there is significantly more than what is out in the media today. I can't speak to what we learned in there, and I don't know if there are other leaks, if there is more information somewhere, if somebody else is going to step up, but I will tell you that I believe it's just the tip of the iceberg.
-- Loretta Sanchez -
There are a lot of things that I really question - the legality of the drone strikes, these NSA revelations. Jimmy Carter came out and said we don’t live in a democracy. That’s a little intense when an ex-president says that. So you know, he’s got some explaining to do, particularly for a constitutional law professor.
-- Matt Damon -
Please give reason. Raised taxes; marching us off to war again; approved more NSA snooping. WHO ARE THEY?!
-- Matt Drudge -
You know, we've been right on everything, haven't we? We told people about drones five years ago, didn't we? We told people about the NSA five years ago, didn't we? We told them about indefinite detention. We told them you can't come after the internet, that's unconstitutional. You can't do warrantless searches, that's unconstitutional.
-- Matt Shea -
The NSA is not looking through people's address books and Visa bills and violating the rights of average citizens. That's not what the NSA does.
-- Michael Gerson -
Was the leaker in question, Ed Snowden, was he a traitor?
-- Michele Bachmann -
Given the scope of these programs, it's understandable that many would be concerned about issues related to privacy. But what's difficult to understand is the motivation of somebody who intentionally would seek to warn the nation's enemies of lawful programs created to protect the American people. And I hope that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
-- Mitch McConnell -
As our voices rise in protest, the NSA monitors your every phone call. if you have a cell phone, you are under surveillance. I believe what you do on your cell phone is none of their damn business,
-- Rand Paul -
You wonder why your government's completely broken? We lurch from deadline to deadline, and it's on purpose really. We do deadline to deadline because ... 'we've got to go. It's spring break, we're going to be late for spring break, and we've got to go, so we've got to finish this up before we go.'
-- Rand Paul -
Let's say tomorrow that there was a president, that we elected a president that eliminated the bulk collection of data. Let's just say it happened. What do you think would happen? People are like 'the sky would fall. We would be overrun with jihadists.' Maybe we could rely on the Constitution. Maybe we could get warrants. ... If you make the warrant specific, there's no limit to what you can get through a warrant.
-- Rand Paul -
Some in Washington say that you have to trade your liberty for security.
-- Rand Paul -
Any time someone tries to tell you that metadata is 'meaningless, don't worry, it's just who you call, it's just phone records, it's not a big deal' - realize we kill people based on metadata. So they must be pretty darn certain that they think they know something based on metadata.
-- Rand Paul -
In the aftermath of 9/11, the Patriot Act was rushed to the floor. Several hundred pages. Nobody read it ... But people voted because they were fearful and people said there could be another attack and Americans will blame me if I don't vote on this.
-- Rand Paul -
Why don't we see any questions from the press? Why don't we see anybody from the media saying, 'Mr. President, it's illegal, you started it, you are performing a program that is collecting all of the phone records from all Americans, it's been declared illegal from the second highest court in the land, why don't you stop?'
-- Rand Paul -
I will not let the Patriot Act, the most unpatriotic of acts, go unchallenged. At the very least, we should debate. We should debate whether or not we are going to relinquish our rights, or whether or not we are going to have a full and able debate over whether or not we can live within the Constitution, or whether or not we have to go around the Constitution.
-- Rand Paul -
The president began this program by executive order. He should immediately end it by executive order. For over a year now, he has said the program is illegal, and yet he does nothing.
-- Rand Paul -
I think we've made the collection haystack so big, no one's ever getting through the haystack to find the needle. What we really need to do is isolate the haystack into a group of suspicious people and spend enormous resources looking at suspicious people, people who we have probable cause.
-- Rand Paul -
Nobody ever was fired for 9/11. Instead of firing the people who didn't do a good job, we gave them medals. The guy who did a good job, I don't know what happened to him. And what we did was we decided we'd just collect everybody's information. That we'd sort of scrap the Bill of Rights.
-- Rand Paul -
Who gets to decide who's an enemy combatant and who's an American citizen? Are we really so frightened and so easily frightened that we would give up a thousand-year history?
-- Rand Paul -
Any time you make an analogy to horrific people in history, Mussolini or Hitler, people say, 'Oh, you're exaggerating, you're talking about, it's hyperbole.' Maybe it is. ... But I would say is that if you are not concerned that democracy could produce bad people, I don't think you're really thinking this through too much.
-- Rand Paul -
Prior to the passage of the Patriot Act, it was very difficult - often impossible - for us to share information with the Central Intelligence Agency, with NSA, with the other intelligence agencies, and likewise, for them to share information with us.
-- Robert Mueller -
This is nothing new. It has proved meritorious because we have gathered significant information on bad guys and only on bad guys over the years.
-- Saxby Chambliss -
The president overstepped his authority when he asked the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans' international phone calls without obtaining a warrant.
-- Sherrod Brown -
The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control
-- William Binney -
Edward Snowden may not be a Chinese mole, but he might as well be. He's just handed Beijing a major score, while the NSA struggles to pick up the pieces - and the rest of us pay the price in terms of future national security.
-- Arthur L. Herman -
A big factor is that the enthusiast camp's values are really rooted in Silicon Valley and in these supposedly new business models. But again, I think this such an interesting moment because things like the NSA revelations are really forcing people to recognize the connections between corporate and government surveillance.
-- Astra Taylor -
ulturally, we are definitely seeing people being to ask hard questions. There's been a major shift over the last year. The NSA revelations played a big part but there are all sorts of other issues too, like inequality and gentrification in the Bay Area, and labor abuses everywhere from Amazon's warehouse, to Apple's factories, to start-ups like Uber and TaskRabbit.
-- Astra Taylor -
The NSA's business is 'information dominance,' the use of other people's secrets to shape events.
-- Barton Gellman -
The NSA buys data from private companies, so the private companies are the source of all this stuff.
-- Cathy O'Neil -
NSA, the only part of government that actually listens.
-- Dan McCall -
Paradoxically, in its quest to make Americans more secure, the NSA has made American communications less secure; it has undermined the safety of the entire internet.
-- Luke Harding -
When the September 11th attacks happened, only about a year later, the crypto community was holding its breath because here was a time when we just had an absolutely horrific terrorist attack on U.S. soil, and if the NSA and the FBI were unhappy with anything, Congress was ready to pass any law they wanted. The PATRIOT Act got pushed through very, very quickly with bipartisan support and very, very little debate, yet it didn't include anything about encryption.
-- Matt Blaze -
The president should stop apologizing, stop being defensive. The reality is the NSA has saved thousands of lives not just in the United States but in France, Germany and throughout Europe.
-- Peter King -
There is an obligation both moral, but also legal, I believe, against a reporter disclosing something which would so severely compromise national security.
-- Peter King -
If Pakistan NSA wants to come he is welcome. But talks will only be on terrorism. No scope for expansion of agenda.
-- Sushma Swaraj -
The Americans are and remain our best friends, but this is absolutely not right. We can't simply return to business as usual.
-- Thomas de Maiziere -
I would argue, by the way, if the French citizens knew exactly what that was about, they would be applauding and popping Champagne corks. It's a good thing. It keeps the French safe. It keeps the U.S. safe.
-- Mike Rogers -
Our bill of rights has been shredded. The fourth amendment specifically prohibits the kind of activities the NSA is involved in domestically. The fifth amendment prohibits any president or anyone else from killing anyone without due process.
-- Ray McGovern -
I would have never thought that I would hear myself saying that the president of the United States is afraid of the CIA. But he is. He's afraid of the NSA as well. How else to explain that the National Intelligence director, who lied under oath to his senate overseers on the 12th of March 2013, is still the director of National Intelligence?
-- Ray McGovern -
What I said was, ‘the NSA does not voyeuristically pore through U.S. citizens’ e-mails.’ I stand by that.
-- James R. Clapper -
The NSA's vision statement is: keep the problem going so the money keeps flowing.
-- William Binney
