George W. Bush Defends PRISM, Surveillance

Repeats current administration talking points

Former President George W. Bush defended the surveillance measures put in place during his tenure as necessary to fight terrorism.

In a CNN interview published Monday, Bush did allow that there needed to be a balance in the tradeoff between greater security and privacy concerns.

"I think there needs to be a balance, and as the president explained, there is a proper balance," Bush said. Referring more specifically to the disclosures about the National Security Agency's surveillance activities in its PRISM spy program, Bush said, "I put that program in place to protect the country. One of the certainties was that civil liberties were guaranteed."