The print version of this article on the front page of the NYT today reads as follows: "Actions Without Warrants Are Callled Wider Than Yet Acknowldged."
This story is not going to go away, and the more deeply it is looked into the more will come out. We are on the verge, I think, of something big. I wonder if Bush tape records himself?
2 comments:
I think a key to this one is that most people no longer believe him when Mr. Bush says, "You're safer because I did this - so we shouldn't worry about the legality of if."
My family and I were away for Christmas vacation when the NSA story broke, and by the time we returned on New Year’s I had a lot of catching up to do.
I think billy bob is right…the old “trust me” response has worn thin for GWB. I sincerely hope that Americans won’t tolerate his weak attempts to bob and weave as Bush tries to draw a distinction between the wholesale authorization of warrantless surveillance and the actions that Congress authorized under the Patriot Act (which are bad enough in themselves).
There was an interesting comparison of some of the historic Presidential actions to reduce civil freedoms in times of war in the Wall Street Journal the other day – Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus, FDR’s internment of Japanese citizens, Nixon’s FBI surveillance of Vietnam War protesters, etc. One of the key differences between those actions and Bush’s domestic spying program, of course, is that they were taken in response to events (wars) that had clearly-defined beginnings and ends. When those historic drivers ended, the civil rights violations expired, as well.
As Bush had made crystal clear, his “war on terror” has become – and will remain – a way of life for Americans. Nobody is going to ever be stupid enough to declare Mission Accomplished again. Like the “war on crime” and the “war on drugs”, the steps America takes to prevent terrorism are going to with us for decades (or centuries, given the history of religion-based conflicts).
That’s one of the primary reasons why we cannot allow this unilateral erosion of civil liberties to stand. It cannot be cast as a temporary measure in response to a well-defined threat. If this kind of thinking is allowed to persist, it will inevitably evolve and grow into even more egregious violations of the freedoms that we Americans hold dear.
Like McCain said…It’s not about who THEY are, it’s about who WE are. What is it about that simple statement that the Bush Administration cannot understand?
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