With all of the hoopla, titillation, and hullabaloo surrounding the Presidential primaries in the media of late, it’s been hard to keep an eye on what our government is doing while not on the campaign trail kissing babies and hugging veterans. While it’s hard to argue that congressional proceedings lack the sex appeal of electing the next presidential contenders, it is still important to keep an eye on what’s being done.
In the March 1st episode of the L.A. Times national security correspondent Greg Miller , who is an alumnus of Stanford, gives a short but thorough update on an ongoing issue that everyone should be paying attention to: warrantless wire tapping.
If you haven’t been paying attention, here is a little back ground. Soon after the September 11th, 2001 attacks Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force against Terrorists Act. In Section 2 paragraph (a) the act gave the President of the United States the authorization “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.”
In December of 2005, the New York Times published an article called “Bush lets U.S. Spy on Callers without Courts” written by James Risen and Eric Lichtblau. In the article, the authors reported: “Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda”
The current issue began in August of 2007 when a new temporary law: the Protect America Act was signed. The P.A.A. increased the National Security Agency’s ability monitor communications and gave a “legal framework” for surveillance that was done without the blessing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as mandated in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 by linking P.A.A. with F.I.S.A.
In mid-February, United States Senate passed legislation renewing the P.A.A. However, the United States House of Representatives allowed the P.A.A. to expire. The key issue being a clause in the updated legislation that protects communications companies from legal action if they participate in the wiretaps. The House has been blocking a vote ever since.
In his article, Greg Miller reports on a new plan to separate the legislation in the House in order to “allow Democrats to register their objections to the immunity provisions.” Miller also points out that Bush is opposed to passing the law without the immunity clause.
Both sides agree that if the issue were to come to a vote that the bill would most likely pass as it stands. The implication is that the bill will pass overwhelmingly without the immunity clauses.
In either incarnation, the message is clear: The Government wants to keep tabs on the population; however they don’t want to be held responsible when the shit hits the database server cooling fan.
In the March 1st episode of the L.A. Times national security correspondent Greg Miller , who is an alumnus of Stanford, gives a short but thorough update on an ongoing issue that everyone should be paying attention to: warrantless wire tapping.
If you haven’t been paying attention, here is a little back ground. Soon after the September 11th, 2001 attacks Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force against Terrorists Act. In Section 2 paragraph (a) the act gave the President of the United States the authorization “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.”
In December of 2005, the New York Times published an article called “Bush lets U.S. Spy on Callers without Courts” written by James Risen and Eric Lichtblau. In the article, the authors reported: “Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda”
The current issue began in August of 2007 when a new temporary law: the Protect America Act was signed. The P.A.A. increased the National Security Agency’s ability monitor communications and gave a “legal framework” for surveillance that was done without the blessing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as mandated in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 by linking P.A.A. with F.I.S.A.
In mid-February, United States Senate passed legislation renewing the P.A.A. However, the United States House of Representatives allowed the P.A.A. to expire. The key issue being a clause in the updated legislation that protects communications companies from legal action if they participate in the wiretaps. The House has been blocking a vote ever since.
In his article, Greg Miller reports on a new plan to separate the legislation in the House in order to “allow Democrats to register their objections to the immunity provisions.” Miller also points out that Bush is opposed to passing the law without the immunity clause.
Both sides agree that if the issue were to come to a vote that the bill would most likely pass as it stands. The implication is that the bill will pass overwhelmingly without the immunity clauses.
In either incarnation, the message is clear: The Government wants to keep tabs on the population; however they don’t want to be held responsible when the shit hits the database server cooling fan.
picture taken from http://psburton.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/phonetap.jpg
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