The National Security Agency used computers to help monitor all international phone calls and e-mails of Americans in carrying out President Bush's orders to detect Al Qaeda sleeper cells. Computers would automatically search for key words and phrases, as well as other signatures possibly associated with sleeper cells. As part of the statistical analysis, computers would create records that compiled profiles of US persons. All of this activity was under way long before September 11th, with the exception of the creation of records on US persons.
Surveillance in the domestic spying program occurs in several stages, and the first stage is done by a computer-controlled system. The information that the artifical intelligence system collects comes from faxs, e-mails, and telephone calls that go into and out of the United States. This machine then shifts through all the infromation and earmarks certain items to be looked at by a human analyst. According to NSA rules, this first step is not considered an "acquisition" of information. It is only considered an "acquisition" when the information has been looked at by a human analyst.
