This is not only disturbing, but also teetering on being unconstitutional.
The National Security Agency has eavesdropped, without warrants, on as
many 500 people inside the United States at any given time since 2002, The
New York Times reported Friday.That year, following the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush authorized the
NSA to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of
hundreds  perhaps thousands  of people inside the United States, the Times
reported.Before the program began, the NSA typically limited its domestic
surveillance to foreign embassies and missions and obtained court orders for
such investigations. Overseas, 5,000 to 7,000 people suspected of terrorist
ties are monitored at one time.The Times said reporters interviewed nearly a dozen current and former
administration officials about the program and granted them anonymity
because of the classified nature of the program.Government officials credited the new program with uncovering several
terrorist plots, including one by Iyman Faris, an Ohio trucker who pleaded
guilty in 2003 to supporting al-Qaida by planning to destroy the Brooklyn
Bridge, the report said.But some NSA officials were so concerned about the legality of the
program that they refused to participate, the Times said. Questions about
the legality of the program led the administration to temporarily suspend it
last year and impose new restrictions
View complete article
here.
What is even more disturbing is the fact that the New York Times held
reporting on this for for a full year at the request of the Bush adminsitration:
On the second page of a report which reveals the White House engaged in
warantless domestic spying, the New York Times reveals that it held the
story for a full year at the request of the Bush Administration, RAW STORY
can reveal.The Times also reveals that senior members of Congress from both parties
knew about Bush’s decision to spy on Americans who were making international
calls or emails, without warrants.Further, the Times notes that they have omitted information in the
article they did write, agreeing with the Bush Administration that the
information could be useful for terrorists. Excerpts from the Times’ article
follow.
View complete article
here.
So now the administration further sticks its hand into our free press and
tries to manipulate what gets reported and when.
The silver lining on this, if there can be one, is that it could spell legal
trouble for Bush. Now that we start getting into campaign season, it is a great
platform for Democrats and even Republicans who cherish the constitution to act.
Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies at
George Washington University, said the secret order may amount to the
president authorizing criminal activity.The law governing clandestine surveillance in the United States, the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, prohibits conducting electronic
surveillance not authorized by statute. A government agent can try to avoid
prosecution if he can show he was “engaged in the course of his official
duties and the electronic surveillance was authorized by and conducted
pursuant to a search warrant or court order of a court of competent
jurisdiction,” according to the law.“This is as shocking a revelation as we have ever seen from the Bush
administration,” said Martin, who has been sharply critical of the
administration’s surveillance and detention policies. “It is, I believe, the
first time a president has authorized government agencies to violate a
specific criminal prohibition and eavesdrop on Americans.”Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington legislative office of
the American Civil Liberties Union, said she is “dismayed” by the report.“It’s clear that the administration has been very willing to sacrifice
civil liberties in its effort to exercise its authority on terrorism, to the
extent that it authorizes criminal activity,” Fredrickson said.
View complete article
here.
How much more proof does Congress require when it comes to the President
breaking the law. Our constitution requires that Congress has oversight of the
President. This Republican lead congress has totally ignored the document that
is the foundation of our nation and political process. This lack of oversight
has let the President continue to engage in these activities. Congress must act
and they must act now.
Recently Bush tried to liken the War on Terror to World War 2. Well here is
where it differs greatly. On December 7, 1941 we were attacked by a foreign
enemy. We had an entire naval fleet destroyed. It was the day our nation was
brought into World War 2, much like September 11 was the day we were brought
into the War on Terror. FDR fought a great war in which we won. The difference
is that FDR did not have to break the law or ignore our constitution to win this
war. He was a leader and lead this country into a great victory.
FDR was a great leader who made this country stronger and he did so while
having a Congress that conducted oversight. Bush has been given free reign over
this country and it has destroyed the basis of our nation. He has trampled on
our constitutional rights and ignored the law. FDR was a leader, Bush is a
traitor and should be treated as such.
Think about this:
Citizens get arrested for not having identification. Citizens are spied on
for no reason. Citizens can be jailed without due process in the name of “the
war on terror”. We are starting to sound like our enemy of the Cold War.