It's My Party and I'll Spy if I Want To
By Glen McAdoo
December 26, 2005
http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20051226/Opinion/112260005
"Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government
talking about wiretap, it requires - a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing
has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists,
we're talking about getting a court order before we do so"- George W. Bush
April 20, 2004.
At the very time of that statement, George W. Bush was
personally overseeing wiretaps without any court orders.
For all of you who still claim this president doesn't lie,
this must come as a shock. For the rest of us it just comes as another "we
told you so." He admitted as much the other day when he vowed to continue
the practice of spying on American citizens whom he suspects may have ties to
Al Qaeda.
The problem is, who is deciding just what amounts to
"ties to Al Qaeda?" Not the courts. George W. Bush is above the law.
He and he alone will decide. Okay, he may consult with a crony or two. As
Richard Nixon once said, "if the president does it, it can't be illegal."
Right, George?
How times have changed. With a few exceptions, the most
outspoken Republicans who were screaming for the head of Bill Clinton for lying
about an extra-marital encounter, claiming no one was above the law, are
singing a different tune now that it's their guy who seems to believe he is
above the law.
This is the president who assured Americans that Saddam
Hussein had ties to Al Qaeda, the same one who assured us that Iraq possessed
weapons of mass destruction and told America that Saddam Hussein was attempting
to get nuclear material from Niger. He was wrong then. He may have lied then.
Are you sure those Americans he is spying on have ties to Al
Qaeda? I'm not. That just might explain the secret nature of this spying. After
all it is this administration that has the FBI spying on Greenpeace and PETA.
Darn tree hugging and animal loving subversives!
It makes no sense. President Bush can easily get court
approval to allow the National Security Agency to spy on suspected terrorists
collaborators. In 1978, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act, which established a secret court. One of its judges has now resigned,
apparently in protest of President Bush's actions. Since its establishment it
has granted more than 19,000 requests for warrants, usually within hours, while
denying only five. What is George W. Bush afraid of?
What about emergencies, you ask? We might need to act
quickly, you say. In such a case the president can go ahead without a warrant
so long as he gets approval of the court within 72 hours.
Again, the president's actions make no sense unless he is
conducting spying activities that he has reason to believe the court would not
allow. That is not only scary it is downright criminal.
The president's explanation continues to baffle most
Americans. He claims that on numerous occasions congress was informed, as if
that makes it alright. Eight members were briefed, but having been sworn to
secrecy, they couldn't publicly object without breaking the law themselves and
being subjected to criminal charges. This is not the congressional oversight
required by law.
Laughable is his claim that it must be constitutional because
he raised his hand and swore to uphold the Constitution. It is downright
frightening that he thinks that his duties as president, as spelled out in the
Constitution, allow him to Willy- Nilly disregard other provisions of the
Constitution protecting civil liberties and personal freedoms that he believes
might hinder him from conducting business as he sees fit.
Okay all you conservatives out there who have mistakenly
claimed that all liberals want to take away your guns --try this on for size.
President Bush's (hardly a liberal) interpretation of the Constitution would
give him the power to disregard the Second Amendment, come into you home
without a warrant, and take away your guns because he had intelligence that you
might have ties to Al Qaeda. Oh, you don't have ties to Al Qaeda? Well shut my
mouth, you mean the president's intelligence was faulty? Sorry, it's your word
against his. Maybe you trust this president's intelligence, but I wouldn't if I
were you. I don't.
Bob Barr, one of the most conservative Republican members of
congress when he was on the hill, had this to say; "What's wrong with it
is several-fold. One, it's bad policy for our government to be spying on
American citizens through the National Security Agency. Secondly, it's bad to
be spying on Americans without court oversight. And thirdly, it's bad to be
spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it
without a court order."
I'm sure most columnists and editors have, or will have,
something to say about President Bush's spying on American citizens. They
should. Now is the time for every American to stand up and be counted. Let the
investigation begin and, if warranted, let the impeachment proceedings
commence.