MOSCOW, May 14 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova – The recent revelation by former NSA and CIA head Michael Hayden that metadata is used for targeting killings shocked many including fellow US intelligence operatives, Melvin Goodman, a former CIA analyst and fellow at the Washington-based Center for International Policy, told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
“It was shocking to hear that confirmed at such a high level,” Goodman said, adding that Hayden's smug manner had made the comments even worse.
This is just one of the problems of the use of metadata, said Goodman, who teaches on international security and government at Johns Hopkins University.
“Besides being an issue at home with regard to collection against American citizens, there is a problem abroad in terms of using this kind of intelligence to target people for assassination,” he said, explaining that as part of the global war on terror the United States has used drones to target people they did not know by name.
Goodman believes they were targeted because of patterns of activity which would include the kind of cars they drive, the kind of houses they visit, the kind of friends they have, and the kind of phone calls they make.
The former CIA analyst emphasized that the original Patriot Act never gave the National Security Agency this power.
“The authority in terms of the act goes to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI. So, there’s been a terrible misreading of the legislation, a terrible over reading and over interpretation of the legislation, and it’s a violation of the 4th Amendment of the Constitution which is against illegal search and seizure,” he said.
During a recent debate at John Hopkins University concerning the National Security Agency’s bulk surveillance programs, former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden admitted that metadata is used as a basis for killing people.
According to files released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the US and its allies have systematically tapped phone calls and read emails of millions of ordinary citizens and high-ranking officials around the world.
The revelations have triggered a global public outcry, casting doubt on the lawfulness of the US surveillance.
