Metadata collection reforms in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks are likely making it harder to catch terrorists before they act, former CIA Director James Woolsey tells
Newsmax TV.
Shooter Sayed Farook may have made social media connections with radical Islamists, which could have signaled agents to look into his activities, Woolsey said Thursday on "Newsmax Prime."
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"That could have been a useful signal and something that should have been tracked down before we had the flap about two years ago with respect to metadata because now, under the post-Snowden regulations, metadata is not preserved," he said. "That is, the records of his calls to someone else, not the substance of the calls, but just the fact of the call, who it was from and who it was to, that can't be preserved by the government anymore."
Woolsey admitted he was being speculative, but added, "this could have been a case in which the post-Snowden reforms have begun to undercut our ability to quickly find out who someone who is suspicious may have been communicating with."
Farook had traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he met his wife and fellow attacker, Tashfeen Malik, but, Woolsey noted, traveling to Saudi Arabia isn't illegal.
Farook also wasn't on the radar because he had a good job, was married and had a child. His guns had been purchased legally.
Still, neighbors had been suspicious of activity at the couple's house, but didn't call authorities because they feared being seen as Islamophobes.
"At some point Americans are going to decide whether they can put up with being politically incorrect in the interest of their security," Woolsey said.
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