Bush Defends Domestic Spying Program

George W. Bush (file photo) (CTK) 2 January 2006 -- President George W. Bush has defended his program of eavesdropping on the international telephone calls and e-mails of some U.S. citizens, saying it is designed to prevent new terrorist attacks on America.

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)