Spying and Lying in 21st Century America

[UpInArms]

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3090

“Most people just don't understand how pervasive government surveillance is. If you place an international phone call, the odds that the National Security Agency is looking are very good. If it goes by oceanic fiber-optic cable, they are listening to it. If it goes by satellite, they are listening to it. If it is a radio broadcast or a cell phone conversation, in principle, they could listen to it. Frankly, they can get what they want.”

John Pike (U.S. military analyst)

John Pike made that observation in late February 2002, a mere five months after nearly 3,000 individuals were killed by the explosive force of fuel-laden jets plowing into the World Trade Center and the subsequent collapse of the Twin Towers.

But more than buildings were brought down that September 11. Historical protections of speech, assembly, protest, and privacy enjoyed by U.S. citizens and legal residents (“U.S. persons”), also came under attack as a stampeded Congress, goaded by a panicked and paranoid administration, abdicated its constitutional role—rather, its constitutional duty—to prevent the undue concentration of power in the Chief Executive. The immediate result was the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorists Act of 2001”—better known by its acronym, USA PATRIOT Act.

This law, as has become more and more clear over the last three months, was but the initial move by the Bush administration in what has become an extended and coordinated attack on the civil liberties of U.S. persons in the name of national security and—ironically—in the name of bringing democracy and civil liberties to Iraq.

The extent of this frontal assault suggests the depth of the ideological aversion of many Bush advisers and confidants to the underlying principles on which the entire American democratic experiment rests. These include protecting the rights of all citizens, especially those of various minorities, against an overbearing majority; providing basic services and infrastructure on an equitable basis; and being responsive to the concerns and safety of the people. In short, it seems that key administration figures and confidants have difficulty with the proposition that “government of the people and for the people” refers to all the people.

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(Note to Mods: This is a Foreign Policy Report and Analysis, not an opinion piece - written by Col. Daniel Smith, U.S. Army (Ret.), therefore giving it a bit more weight than just mere editorializing. I do believe it is news in the classic sense that this is the opinion of the military with regard to *Co's illegals spying and the browbeating of the congressional bodies into renewing the unPATRIOT Act. Do as you will and thank you for all that you do. UIA)

[Clara T]

1. Maybe not the right forum but an excellent article

k&r

[unhappycamper]

2. Excellent post

to Editorial and Other Articles.

The linked article is a good read. :thumbsup:

[hermetic]

3. Power to the Peephole!!

Mark Fiore http://www.markfiore.com/animation/greater.html