FISA court approves NSA phone program
WASHINGTON – The secret U.S. court that governs surveillance of terrorist and foreign espionage targets is authorizing the National Security Agency to keep collecting U.S. phone records.
The director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper, on Friday made public the continuation of the records collection, as part of the Obama administration’s campaign to better explain how U.S. intelligence uses U.S. data. At one hearing, Clapper told Congress his officers do not collect such data.
Leaks by former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden revealed the bulk collection of millions of U.S. phone logs showing who Americans called and for how long.
Kerry attends talks on Afghanistan plans
KABUL, Afghanistan – The future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan after the last troops leave at the end of 2014 may depend on whether U.S. officials such as Secretary of State John Kerry can allay Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s worries about sovereignty, Pakistan and the safety of Afghan citizens at the hands of Western troops.
Kerry began urgent talks Friday with Karzai as an end-of-October deadline loomed for a security deal that would allow American troops to remain in Afghanistan.
Talks on the bilateral security agreement have foundered on issues of Afghan sovereignty.
Associated Press
