NSA Data Gathered After Sept. 11 Attacks Led to Dead Ends and Innocent Americans
In the anxious months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the National Security Agency began sending a steady stream of telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and names to the F.B.I. in search of terrorists. The stream soon became a flood, requiring hundreds of agents to check out thousands of tips a month. But virtually all of them, current and former officials say, led to dead ends or innocent Americans.
Spy Agency Data After Sept. 11 Led F.B.I. to Dead Ends, New York Times, January 17, 2006.
