NSA SHARES RAW DATA WITH ISRAEL, MAKES MOCKERY OF FOURTH AMENDMENT

I know our National Security Agency (NSA) is out there snooping on our emails, texts, phone calls and so forth. I don't like it. Government spying on its own citizens seems truly un-American to me. This is supposed to be the "land of the free" where our persons, houses, and papers are protected from government seizure. That includes our phone calls, emails and text messages as well. That is what makes us "exceptional".

But like most of us, I can be persuaded that with safeguards to do the right thing--the American men and women of the NSA will follow the rules and protect our rights. They come from the same culture, speak the same language and understand our laws and ways of expressing ourselves. So as Americans too, we would expect that they would diligently protect (most of the time) our Fourth Amendment Rights. (Recall that one? Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures...etc.) But after reading the latest Ed Snowden leak, I am not so certain, we can claim that as one of our exceptional rights as Americans.

Recent revelations of formal Israeli and US documents leaked by Edward Snowden and published in the LA Times September 13, 2013(www.latimes.com/.../la-fg-wn-nsa-intelligence-israel-edward-snow)in a piece by by Ken Dilanian, reveal that the National Security Agency---our own NSA---routinely shares “raw” intelligence data (emails, phone calls, electronic data, phone call content, names, etc., etc.) with Israel. Israel is an ally, but has a long history of going it alone, of illegal, extra-juridical assassinations, and of intensive spying efforts on the USA. I am not comfortable with some Israeli "techie"going over MY personal data, my phone calls, my emails. There is an historic, political, cultural and language divide between us and much greater chance that information can be misconstrued and misunderstood----and misused. Such raw data can certainly include sensitive information about Americans. Information which could be perverted by some foreign power. Such a policy makes a mockery of our Constitutional protections. It is very, very disturbing.

The leaked formal US documents indicate that Israel is "required to respect" the Fourth Amendment rights of any American's data "hoovered" in by the NSA and then without perusal passed on to the Israelis. But the formal document of understanding includes no actual sanctions or punishment if the foreign power fails to follow those rules. (It gives the impression that the the phrase "required to respect the American Fourth Amendment" is only a "wink wink" nudge nudge" pro forma inclusion in the boiler plate which means nothing and has no teeth.) Furthermore, the agreement permits the Israelis to hold on to the data for "a year" again with no oversight or controls, and there are no controls on what the Israelis do with the data, or who THEY can share it with. There is no way to logically explain such a breech of our own personal rights and security as this "handover" of NSA raw data to Israel. It must be addressed and changed.

What has, in effect, happened here is that the NSA, under President Obama, has handed over the protection of our Fourth American Constitutional rights to a foreign power with the NSA data. This is a astounding infringement on our rights of privacy from government intrusion...by our own government in collusion with a foreign power. That is a serious breach of the President's responsibility to protect our Constitution and our rights as Americans. How can President Obama, our Constitutional-law professor in the White House know about this and continue to permit it to occur? For this act makes a mockery of our Constitutional protections.

Get the picture?

rjk