Fort Meade, UNITED STATES: (FILES): This 25 January 2006 file photo shows the National Security Agency (NSA) in the Washington suburb of Fort Meade, Maryland, where US President George W. Bush delivered a speech behind closed doors and met with employees in advance of Senate hearings on the much-criticized domestic surveillance. The US National Security Agency has assembled the world's largest database of telephone records tracking the phone calls of tens of millions of AT and T, Verizon and BellSouth customers, sources familiar with the program told USA Today. In an article published 11 May 2006, the daily said the NSA launched the secret program in 2001, shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, to analyze calling patterns in a bid to detect terrorist activity. AFP PHOTO/FILES/Paul J. RICHARDS (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
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NSA spying: Has the government lost important tool?
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Fort Meade, UNITED STATES: (FILES): This 25 January 2006 file photo shows the National Security Agency (NSA) in the Washington suburb of Fort Meade, Maryland, where US President George W. Bush delivered a speech behind closed doors and met with employees in advance of Senate hearings on the much-criticized domestic surveillance. The US National Security Agency has assembled the world's largest database of telephone records tracking the phone calls of tens of millions of AT and T, Verizon and BellSouth customers, sources familiar with the program told USA Today. In an article published 11 May 2006, the daily said the NSA launched the secret program in 2001, shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, to analyze calling patterns in a bid to detect terrorist activity. AFP PHOTO/FILES/Paul J. RICHARDS (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
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Fort Meade, UNITED STATES: The logo of the National Security Agency (NSA) hangs at the Threat Operations Center inside the NSA in the Washington suburb of Fort Meade, Maryland, 25 January 2006. US President George W. Bush delivered a speech behind closed doors and met with employees in advance of Senate hearings on the much-criticized domestic surveillance. AFP PHOTO/Paul J. RICHARDS (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
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Fort Meade, UNITED STATES: (FILES): This 25 January 2006 file photo shows the National Security Agency (NSA) in the Washington suburb of Fort Meade, Maryland, where US President George W. Bush delivered a speech behind closed doors and met with employees in advance of Senate hearings on the much-criticized domestic surveillance. The US National Security Agency has assembled the world's largest database of telephone records tracking the phone calls of tens of millions of AT and T, Verizon and BellSouth customers, sources familiar with the program told USA Today. In an article published 11 May 2006, the daily said the NSA launched the secret program in 2001, shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks, to analyze calling patterns in a bid to detect terrorist activity. AFP PHOTO/FILES/Paul J. RICHARDS (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
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