WASHINGTON, Aug 18: The US administration said on Friday it would “do everything possible” to continue wiretapping citizens suspected of involvement in terrorist activities despite a court order to immediately halt the practice.

“We’re going to do everything we can in courts to allow this programme to continue,” Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a news conference in Washington.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, the government has targeted thousands of people, many of them Muslim, for wiretapping and surveillance.

On Thursday, US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit had ordered an immediate halt to wiretapping without warrants, but the government said it would ask for a stay of that order pending appeal. The government is taking the case to the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

US President George W. Bush on Friday voiced strong objection to the court ruling that his administration’s programme to wiretap citizens without warrants was unconstitutional and should be stopped.

In his first public comment on the matter, Mr Bush said he “strongly disagreed” with the federal judge’s ruling and believed the programme was needed to protect the nation.

“I would say that those who herald this decision simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live. I strongly disagree with this decision,” he told a briefing near Washington.

“We strongly believe it is constitutional and if Al Qaeda is calling into the United States we want to know why they are calling,” he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the suit, said it would oppose a stay but agreed to delay enforcement of the injunction until Judge Taylor hears arguments on Sept 7.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Bush administration “couldn’t disagree more with this ruling.” He said the program carefully targeted communications of suspected terrorists and “has helped stop terrorist attacks and saved American lives.”

But Democratic lawmakers, Muslim groups and human rights activists welcomed the verdict as a major step towards protecting US citizens from unnecessary and warranted intrusions.