President Bush has again defended the war in Iraq and his controversial domestic spying program during a speech at a university in the midwestern U.S. state of Kansas.
The president's speech is part of an intense public relations effort by the administration to convince the nation the program is a necessary tool. Today he called the program a "terrorist surveillance" program and denied that it was illegal, saying he had briefed Congress on it.
Mr. Bush has come under fire from opposition Democrats and some Republicans for authorizing the National Security Agency to monitor phone calls and e-mails between U.S. citizens and persons abroad without first getting permission from a special court.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will speak on the issue Tuesday, one day before President Bush visits N.S.A. headquarters near Washington on Wednesday.
The Senate will hold hearings in early February on the legality of the program.
The president's speech is part of an intense public relations effort by the administration to convince the nation the program is a necessary tool. Today he called the program a "terrorist surveillance" program and denied that it was illegal, saying he had briefed Congress on it.
Mr. Bush has come under fire from opposition Democrats and some Republicans for authorizing the National Security Agency to monitor phone calls and e-mails between U.S. citizens and persons abroad without first getting permission from a special court.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will speak on the issue Tuesday, one day before President Bush visits N.S.A. headquarters near Washington on Wednesday.
The Senate will hold hearings in early February on the legality of the program.