http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/22/wa...in&oref=slogin
A major New York Times article first published last night exposes another secret program installed by the Bush administration after 9/11. Initially set up to trace funding for terrorist groups, the program tracks the financial records of thousands of people, using a vast international database.
Although government officials claim the program is only used to investigate those with ties to Al Qaeda, one former senior counterterrorism official said "the potential for abuse is enormous."
The program relies on a Belgian cooperative known as Swift, a company exempt from American laws restricting government access to private information because it is considered a messenger, not a financial institution.
The government's access to the information has stirred privacy concerns among some inside the Bush administration, and even some Swift executives raised questions about the legality of the program. The New York Times reports that Swift was ready to terminate the arrangement in 2003, but several major government officials, including Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan, intervened and persuaded the company to continue providing information.