If you're reading this in the future, I hope history has not diminished the significance of the Bush administration's program at the NSA to wiretap US citizens without a court order.
I feel this is an extreme abuse of power. Our great country is kept great thanks to the concept of checks and balances between the three divisions of government. With the crisis caused by the Nixon administration's abuse of powers, Congress enacted a law known as FISA, which, among other things, requires all wiretapping of US citizen communications to be approved by a court warrant. And from what I understand, this warrant can even be provided after-the-fact.
The Bush administration decided to institute a "limited" program of non-approved wiretapping of US citizens suspected of terrorism.
The defense of this program has been as follows:
1. We're at war (against terrorism) and war-time wiretapping is not covered by FISA
2. These wiretaps are urgent, there's no time to get a court approval.
3. The program is extremely limited.
My response to each is:
1. Congress has not declared a state of war. If indeed there is a provision that wiretapping need not judicial approval in times of war, I would think it reasonable to expect that we're actually at war - as indicated by Congress' declaration of war. The "war" on terror, while a noble cause, is not, technically, a war. If Bush wants to use a technicality to get out of FISA, then he must also play by the rules of that technicality - ie, don't hide by a state of war if a state of war hasn't been declared by congress.
2. My understanding is that these court approvals can be issued after-the-fact. If this is true, then #2 is a totally bogus justification.
3. So what? I don't care how limited it is - even one incident of law breaking is more than enough.
What makes me so mad time and time again is how the Republicans CRUCIFIED Clinton for lying to the American public, while they have no qualms about Bush running ripshod over the Constitution and American law. They are so fucking hypocritical. Not that I'm a Clinton lover - I'm not. I just can't stand hypocrites. Clinton's worst offense was to lie about a f-ing extra-marital affair - get real here folks, it was an EXTRA MARITAL AFFAIR - lying is part of it. What do you expect???
Also, Clinton's lie didn't cost any US lives, or billions upon billions of US tax payer dollars.
Bush's strongarmed approach to the Iraq war did both of these. Yet his transgressions (eg, deception re weapons of mass destruction; conducting illegal wiretaps) in waging this war are never put to Bush for accountability (at least, not by conservatives)
It is just so sickenly hypocritical how the Republicans set Kenneth Star loose on investigating every aspect of Clinton's sexual life in hopes of cornering him into any type of lie - no matter how insignificant that lie is to the security of the US - and then have no problem whatsoever wiith Bush running his own administration totally unaccountable to Congress, the judicial branch, or the American people
