Officials Justify Surveillance Programs; Evolution Of An American Hero
WHITFIELD: All right. This week, we expect to hear more about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. The NSA leaks have left a lot of unanswered questions, including whether the data collection programs actually helped thwart any terrorist plots. Our Athena Jones is live for us now in Washington. Athena, good to see you. Very windy there on the White House lawn. What are lawmakers saying today about the surveillance programs?</s>ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fred. You're right, it's windy here. When it comes to lawmakers, it depends who you talk to. Of course, you have folks on both sides of the issue as with any issue. House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers was on STATE OF THE UNION this morning talking about this program. He says as more information comes out about just what kinds of plots these surveillance programs were able to help thwart, that will allay some of the concerns of the American people. Let's listen to what he had to say.</s>REP. MIKE ROGERS, (R-MI), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I do think it helps because as people get a better feeling that this is a lockbox with only phone numbers, no names, no addresses in it. We've used it sparingly, it is absolutely overseen by the legislature, the judicial branch and the executive branch. Has lots of protections built in, if you can see the number of cases where we've actually stopped a plot, I think Americans will come to a different conclusion that all the misleading rhetoric I've heard over the last few weeks.</s>JONES: And so that's one side of the issue. On the other side, of course, you have people like Democratic senator Mark Udall from Colorado, who's really concerned about the millions and millions of data and length of phone calls that are being collected by Americans. He suggested today on "Meet the Press" that this could be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. He wants to see more limits put on the collection of this data. So, that's the debate going on right now, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: Are there any expectations in the coming days?</s>JONES: Well, some of the information about the kinds of plots these surveillance programs have helped thwart is already trickling out. We know the NSA wants to make more data available -- broadly of course, not operational details. One thing we learned from a declassified document that was released just yesterday was one plot thwarted with the help of these programs was the plot to bomb the New York subway system back in 2009. We know the government was listening in to calls or tracking calls, I should say, from Najibullah Zazi, the man who was ultimately convicted of that plot, which at the time called one of the most serious threats to the United States on the homeland since 2001, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: Athena Jones, thanks so much from the White House.</s>JONES: Thanks.</s>WHITFIELD: The embattled leadership in Syria is a bit more isolated today. Egypt, once seen as a go-between, had announced it is sever verge diplomatic ties. Meanwhile, one congressional leader says he approves of the Obama administration's proposal to arm some of the Syrian rebels.</s>SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The reality is we need to tip the scales, not simply to nudge them. And the president's moving in the right direction. And to a large degree ,this is about whether or not we exert American leadership with our allies abroad, both in the Gulf region and in Europe. A lot of what we might want to see done can be done through our allies if we direct them and tell them this is where we want to head.</s>WHITFIELD: For more on Egypt's decision to pull away from Syria, here now is CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's another blow to the Syrian government now that the Egyptians have said they are severing ties with Damascus and they are forcing Syria to close its embassy in Cairo. The Egyptians were always seen as something like a possible mediator between the Iranian interests and the interests of the rebels in the Syrian conflict. But now, of course, all of that seems to have gone away. The mood here in Damascus is still one of defiance. Pro-government supporters that we've been speaking to say that they are still standing by the government, that if America wants to guest involved in this war, let them come. But nevertheless, of course, they are very concerned, and the government itself is concerned as well about the possible scale and scope of American intervention. And they're waiting to see what moves the U.S. takes next. Now, one of the things that is bolstering the government in Damascus is the fact that the Russians continue to say they are not convinced by the evidence of possible chemical weapons use on the battlefield, and the Russians have said any sort of weapons delivery to the rebels would make a peace process very difficult. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.</s>WHITFIELD: The alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks are headed to a courtroom at Guantanamo Bay. We'll take you inside Gitmo, and you'll meet one of the inmates who has been on a hunger strike for almost four months now.