The NSA spies on innocent Americans... Is that supposed to be a surprise?

Reports all over the media yesterday and today confirm what we’ve known all along. Surveillance programs touted as critical to protect national security have in fact been used to monitor the private communications of innocent Americans abroad, including humanitarian workers and U.S. service-members.

Two former military intercept operators -- the people at the National Security Agency (NSA) who actually listen in to people’s calls -- revealed the news in an ABC report released yesterday.

Contrary to direct assurances from Bush administration officials that NSA monitoring was directed at suspected terrorists, the intercept operators report that "hundreds of U.S. citizens overseas have been eavesdropped on as they call friends and family back home."
The NSA even intentionally directed its surveillance powers at well-established humanitarian organizations like Doctors Without Borders and the International Red Cross. More...

See also:

• Britain: Spies to tap into all e-mails and phone calls...
• Six years in Guantanamo ... for refusing to be a spy
• John Le Carré blasts the Big Brother State...
• Insect spies? Jesus! This is scary, folks!