Patriot Act
In his letter in the Delaware County Times on 10/10/08, Joel Canfield played the fear card: “Obama would love to strip the Patriot Act of many of its teeth and implement such burdensome policies as 7 day notice to sneak a peek searches of terrorist suspects.”
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was created by Congress to specifically provide a speedy, secure judicial review of the actions of our intelligence agencies. FICA allows authorities to immediately respond to threats, but requires they apply for a retroactive warrant after the surveillance has already begun. Secret warrants had been approved over 19,000 times, with only five applications being rejected in thirty years. The court, which acts within hours, is not a roadblock, but prevents abuse by providing the oversight required by our constitutional system of checks and balances.
Bush realized that even a Republican-controlled Congress wouldn’t authorize such an unconstitutional measure, so he decided to ignore law and proceed with the program. In 2002, he personally approved domestic spying without involving the surveillance court. Nevertheless, in 2004, he reassured the nation: “Any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires a court order. Nothing has changed. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.”
Former National Security Agency officer Russ Tice reported the NSA’s eavesdropping program, which Bush didn’t want the American people to know about. The crime was that Bush violated his oath of office by failing to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. By not using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Bush conducted himself as if he is above the law and that the Constitution’s checks and balances didn’t apply to him.
Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr was one of the most conservative members of Congress said: “It’s bad policy for our government to be spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency... It’s bad to be spying on Americans without court oversight...It’s bad to be spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it without court order.” Upon learning of Bush’s deception, Barr said, “The President has dared the American people to do something about it. For the sake of the Constitution, I hope they will.” Bob Barr has decided to do something about it and is running for President as the Libertarian Party’s candidate.
Career counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke served under four presidents beginning as an analyst on nuclear weapons under Reagan and established a record for continuous service in national security policy positions. Clarke warned: “For this president, fear is an easier political tactic than compromise. With Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, he is attempting to rattle Congress into hastily expanding his own executive powers at the expense of civil liberties and constitutional protections... I spent most of my career in government fighting to protect this country in order to defend these very rights.”
Under questioning by Joe Biden it became clear that Bush’s domestic spy program isn’t contributing anything to protecting Americans from al Qaeda type terrorism. In a Congressional hearing, Biden asked whether the program had achieved any results. Attorney General Gonzales claimed, it had helped identify would-be terrorists here in the United States. Biden asked: “Have we arrested those people we’ve identified as terrorists in the United States?” Gonzales replied: “When we can use our law enforcement tools to go after the bad guys, we do that.” Biden concluded: “It kind of worries me because you all talk about how you identify these people, and I’ve not heard anything about anybody being arrested.”
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was created by Congress to specifically provide a speedy, secure judicial review of the actions of our intelligence agencies. FICA allows authorities to immediately respond to threats, but requires they apply for a retroactive warrant after the surveillance has already begun. Secret warrants had been approved over 19,000 times, with only five applications being rejected in thirty years. The court, which acts within hours, is not a roadblock, but prevents abuse by providing the oversight required by our constitutional system of checks and balances.
Bush realized that even a Republican-controlled Congress wouldn’t authorize such an unconstitutional measure, so he decided to ignore law and proceed with the program. In 2002, he personally approved domestic spying without involving the surveillance court. Nevertheless, in 2004, he reassured the nation: “Any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires a court order. Nothing has changed. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.”
Former National Security Agency officer Russ Tice reported the NSA’s eavesdropping program, which Bush didn’t want the American people to know about. The crime was that Bush violated his oath of office by failing to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. By not using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Bush conducted himself as if he is above the law and that the Constitution’s checks and balances didn’t apply to him.
Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr was one of the most conservative members of Congress said: “It’s bad policy for our government to be spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency... It’s bad to be spying on Americans without court oversight...It’s bad to be spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it without court order.” Upon learning of Bush’s deception, Barr said, “The President has dared the American people to do something about it. For the sake of the Constitution, I hope they will.” Bob Barr has decided to do something about it and is running for President as the Libertarian Party’s candidate.
Career counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke served under four presidents beginning as an analyst on nuclear weapons under Reagan and established a record for continuous service in national security policy positions. Clarke warned: “For this president, fear is an easier political tactic than compromise. With Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, he is attempting to rattle Congress into hastily expanding his own executive powers at the expense of civil liberties and constitutional protections... I spent most of my career in government fighting to protect this country in order to defend these very rights.”
Under questioning by Joe Biden it became clear that Bush’s domestic spy program isn’t contributing anything to protecting Americans from al Qaeda type terrorism. In a Congressional hearing, Biden asked whether the program had achieved any results. Attorney General Gonzales claimed, it had helped identify would-be terrorists here in the United States. Biden asked: “Have we arrested those people we’ve identified as terrorists in the United States?” Gonzales replied: “When we can use our law enforcement tools to go after the bad guys, we do that.” Biden concluded: “It kind of worries me because you all talk about how you identify these people, and I’ve not heard anything about anybody being arrested.”
posted by Jim O'Leary | 12:14 AM
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