Spymaster Bush ..?

Bush said: "In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency ..to intercept communications of people with known links to Al Qaeda .." as well as a few of my former fraternity brothers (italics are mine).

I think Bush can thank Nixon for the trouble he’s in over eavesdropping. Congress passed the law requiring court approval for domestic surveillance in 1978 ..in response to the abuses of the Nixon Administration. Nixon used the CIA to spy on American citizens ..the Justice department to persecute them ..and the IRS to audit them. He targeted journalists ..college students ..and his political rivals ..the last of which got him in real trouble ..and lead to his impeachment and resignation. Nixon was mean-spirited and vindictive ..he kept a list of personal enemies ..not enemies of the state ..and he used this information to ruin people’s lives. That’s not the case here ..I don’t believe Bush is mean-spirited or vindictive ..he doesn’t seem to have a personal vendetta. He’s doing it to fight terrorists. I don’t think we need to worry about losing our civil liberties because of it. Maybe the terrorists do.