Bugging the Democrats
By David Corn
05/08/06 "The
Guardian" -- -- By
nominating Michael Hayden, the former chief of the National
Security Agency (the US government's super-secret eavesdropping
outfit), to replace
Porter Goss as CIA director, Bush is waving a red cape in
front of his critics and daring them to charge.
Hayden, who is now the deputy director of national
intelligence (the number two man in the office overseeing the
entire US intelligence community), ran the NSA when Bush
authorized domestic warrantless wiretapping of American citizens
and residents. When news of this programme broke last year, a
firestorm of controversy ensued. In the United States,
government investigators working on an intelligence case
generally have to obtain a court order (from a secret court) in
order to intercept a person's phone calls or emails within the
United States. The Bush administration revealed little about
this programme, but apparently it targeted communications
between persons in America and those in other countries and
presumably these communications involved al Qaeda suspects.
Upon learning of the programme - from
a story in The New York Times - Democrats and Republicans
voiced concern or outright criticism. Initially, the Bush White
House was defensive - but then it fought back hard. It accused
its critics of being opposed to a "terrorist surveillance
programme", ignoring the nuanced point that these critics
favoured surveillance programmes as long as they abided by
existing laws. Vice President Dick Cheney, in particularly, was
demagogic on this point, claiming that the critics supported
al-Qaeda's ability to communicate within the United States. In
the face of the administration's fierce counterattack, many
members of Congress backed off.
Hayden was one of the most ardent defenders of the programme,
though he eschewed the rhetorical excesses that Cheney deployed.
In appearances before Congress, Hayden argued that it was
necessary to resort to warrantless eavesdropping because US
officials pursuing terrorist suspects would otherwise lose
precious time filling out the paperwork for wiretap requests.
But the law already allowed US investigators to obtain a wiretap
without a warrant in emergencies - as long as they filed a
request (within three days) with the court overseeing wiretaps.
Hayden's misleading explanation prompted speculation that the
programme went further than the media reports indicated. Months
later, the full shape of the programme Hayden oversaw remains
unknown to the public.
What is clear is that the White House has concluded that the
exposure of its warrantless wiretap programme was not a
political liability but a potential asset. Bush aides decided
that they could sell the programme as a demonstration of Bush's
commitment to protecting Americans from terrorists. They
maintained it was legal and derided those who raised civil
liberties issues as being more concerned with the rights of the
evildoers than the safety of the United States. At a time when
the American public has turned against Bush and his war, this
was the sort of debate the White House much desired.
With the Hayden nomination, Bush is saying, "Bring 'em on."
The White House can expect members of the Senate, which has to
confirm Hayden before he can serve, to revive their complaints
about the warrantless wiretapping programme, and then the White
House can respond with its favorite line: Bush cares so much
about safeguarding America from the terrorists that, yes, he
will not hesitate to adopt the most serious measures.
If the Hayden confirmation process comes to be dominated by
the wiretap question, that will be unfortunate. There is much
else to consider. The CIA seems to be falling apart, with both
senior and junior officers fleeing in what appears to be record
numbers. The agency failed before 9/11 and then it botched the
Iraq WMD question (and did nothing as Bush aides overstated the
already overstated intelligence in the run-up to the war). It
has generated controversy, scandal and ill will around the world
with its rendition programme and secret prisons. In these
dangerous days, the United States - and the world - actually
need a CIA that is effective in uncovering actual threats and
real plots and that operates within certain bounds of probity.
The Hayden confirmation process will afford the Senate a rare
opportunity to explore many contentious and crucial issues. It
would be a pity if it becomes no more than a platform for the
Bush administration to bash its critics for helping bin Laden
make phone calls to America.
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