'Intel' Issues: The new CIA chief, NSA wiretapping and others (June 8, 2006)

The topic for our IIF discussion this Thursday will be U.S. Intelligence Issues. Some of the subjects that will be covered are the resignation of CIA Director Porter J. Goss and his replacement by Gen. Michael V. Hayden, and the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program. Our discussion will be led by one of our regulars, Jason DeJoannis.

As usual, I am sending along some background information:
From the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia, here are biographies of the new CIA Director and the man he replaced:
Michael V. Hayden
Porter J. Goss

Here is an article about Hayden from Time:
Thinker, Briefer, Soldier, Spy

Here is the original article from the New York Times that broke the story about the NSA's warrantless wiretap program:
Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts

Here is the press briefing about the NSA program:
Press Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden, Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence 12-19-05

Here is a Congressional Research Service memorandum about the program:
Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information 01-05-06

Here is a letter from a group of law professors and former government officials challenging the constitutionality of the NSA program:
Response to the Justice Department from Law Professors and Former Government Officials, January 9, 2006

Here is a letter sent by the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Pat Roberts, to the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, supporting the constitutionality of the NSA program:
Sen. Pat Roberts on the Constitutionality of Warrantless Electronic Surveillance: letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, February 3, 2006

Finally, here is an editorial in favor of the NSA program that originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal:
The Wisdom in Wiretaps