Bush: Defending Americans. Democrats: Playing Politics
Bush Vigorously Defends Domestic Spying
Dec 19, 7:55 PM (ET)
By TERENCE HUNT
WASHINGTON (AP) - Accused of acting above the law, President Bush forcefully defended a domestic spying program on Monday as an effective tool in disrupting terrorists and insisted it was not an abuse of Americans' civil liberties.
Bush said it was "a shameful act" for someone to have leaked details to the media. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said it was "probably the most classified program that exists in the United States government" - involving electronic intercepts of telephone calls and e-mails in the U.S. of people with known ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.
At a news conference, Bush bristled at the suggestion he was assuming unlimited powers.
"To say 'unchecked power' basically is ascribing some kind of dictatorial position to the president, which I strongly reject," he said angrily in a finger-pointing answer. "I am doing what you expect me to do, and at the same time, safeguarding the civil liberties of the country."
Despite Bush's defense, there was a growing storm of criticism from Congress and calls for investigations, from Democrats and Republicans alike. West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, released a handwritten letter expressing concern to Vice President Dick Cheney after being briefed more than two years ago.
Rockefeller complained then that the information was so restricted he was "unable to fully evaluate, much less endorse these activities." He registered concern about the administration's direction on security, technology and surveillance issues.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he would ask Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito, his views of the president's authority for spying without a warrant.
"Where does he find in the Constitution the authority to tap the wires and the phones of American citizens without any court oversight?" asked Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Bush's interpretation of the Constitution was "incorrect and dangerous."
Bush said he had asked, "Do I have the legal authority to do this? And the answer is, absolutely."
The spying uproar was the latest controversy about Bush's handling of the war on terror, after questions about secret prisons in Eastern Europe, secrecy-cloaked government directives, torture allegations and a death toll of more than 2,150 Americans in Iraq. As a result, Bush's approval rating has slumped as has Americans' confidence in his leadership.
Appealing for support, Bush used the word "understand" 25 times in a nearly hour-long news conference. "I hope the American people understand - there is still an enemy that would like to strike the United States of America, and they're very dangerous," he said. Similarly, he said he hoped that blacks who doubt his intentions "understand that I care about them."
Bush challenged Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. - without naming them - to allow a final vote on legislation renewing the anti-terror Patriot Act, saying it was inexcusable to let it expire. "I want senators from New York or Los Angeles or Las Vegas to go home and explain why these cities are safer" without the extension, he said.
Reid and Clinton both helped block passage of the legislation in the Senate last week.
Bush noted that U.S. intelligence agencies have been faulted for failing to "connect the dots" about threats to the nation's security. He said the Patriot Act and the spying program help take care of that problem.
I would be nervous if this was a Liberal administration, because I mistrust Liberal's goals. You see, 1984 is a vision of a "socialists paradise." It is a vision of what would result if the Left took over. Orwell's Animal Farm was not a warning against democracy and free enterprise, it was a warning against socialism and facism. Facism arises not from those seeking to defend freedom, it arises from those seeking to "protect" citizens from themselves, "for their own good." What President Bush did may border legality, but the motives were unquestionable. If a Liberal did this, then we would be much more likely to have violations of individual civil liberties. You know, something similar to what happened in the first Hillary administration with the FBI files and the IRS.
Full Story: Reid Telling Tales...Again
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posted by Will Malven at 7:09 AM
1 Comments:
The President has the power to allow those eavesdropings to take place. PERIOD. Whether anyone likes it or not. And we are not spying on Joe average American citizen.
Read This:
"In Re: Sealed Case," the FISA appeals court decision cited a previous FISA case [U.S. v. Truong], where a federal court "held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information."
The court's decision went on to say: "We take for granted that the President does have that authority and, assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President's constitutional power."
"The two district court judges who have presided over the FISA court since 9/11 also knew about" the Bush surveillance program.
http://www.talkshowamerica.com/2...py- program.html
and this:
Gonzales said one party to the communication must be outside the United States and linked with al-Qaida or an affiliate organization. "The president has not authorized ... blanket surveillance of communications here in the United States."
http://www.talkshowamerica.com/ 2...rveillance.html
The President clearly has this authority and certainly Clinton used it in the Echelon Project as is stated in this blog for lesser purposes.
But don't expect the liberals to care about facts they are too busy frothing at the mouth with their anticiaption of Impeaching the President for something that they can't use. The libs know that the President is within his rights, they just hope you don't as they go on a scare tactic tirade along with their Dem, Rino, and MSNM friends in an attempt to discredit the President.
On top of this all, it's not working, most citizens understand that the President is doing what he has to do to protect the country from terrorist attacks and they also understand that they are not listening to you calling the wife to see if you need milk or bread. Common Sense still prevails in the majority of Americans, and the Dems are spinning their wheels on this one.
If Clinton had used this to do what it should have been used for, perhaps there would have been no 9/11 attacks.
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