
 |
|
June 17, 2013
June 12, 2013
Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect
Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden
June 10, 2013
The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust
June 5, 2013
John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less
Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison
June 3, 2013
Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself
May 29, 2013
Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die
May 24, 2013
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
|
| |
Jewish World Review
August 20, 2007
/ 6 Elul, 5767
As terrorists plot, Congress is focusing elsewhere
By
Jonathan Gurwitz
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Which has been the most pressing issue facing the nation over the past three months: A.) Casting free trade pacts with U.S. allies in Latin America and Asia into perdition; B.) challenging the constitutional authority of the president to hire and fire executive branch appointees; C.) expanding socialized health care; or D.) defending the nation against terrorist attack?
If you answered A, B or C, then you're qualified to serve in the leadership of the Democratic majority in Congress. If you answered D, then you can thank Adm. Mike McConnell.
As director of national intelligence, McConnell went before Congress in May to describe a dangerous legal logjam that had developed at the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The court is a creation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which determines where and how U.S. intelligence agencies can legally conduct eavesdropping operations within the United States.
According to a public report issued to Congress by the Justice Department, the court approved 2,176 warrants in 2006 for surveillance operations. The court denied only one warrant application. The numbers suggest that our law enforcement and intelligence professionals are doing a pretty good job tailoring their efforts to address real or potentially real threats to U.S. national security, not innocent citizens or paranoid critics of George W. Bush.
All that changed in January. In the aftermath of a New York Times story that revealed elements of a broader terrorist surveillance program, the Bush administration under pressure from Congress agreed to bring previously exempt parts of the program into the FISA process.
The number of warrant requests presented to the FISA court has presumably skyrocketed. And at least one of the 11 judges on the court has construed a new authority to approve warrants for entirely foreign communications that happen to pass through fiber optic cables and giant communications switching hubs in the United States.
In other words, due to changes in technology, U.S. pre-eminence in international telecommunications and the whims of judges on a secret court who are unaccountable to the people, foreign surveillance operations that have for decades protected Americans and been beyond the purview of FISA are now subject to warrants. And, according to the Wall Street Journal, some of the judges are demanding to approve the warrants in advance of the wiretaps, not retroactively which is frequently essential in the fast-moving, digital-cellular world.
That's why McConnell alerted Congress about the emerging intelligence gap. "We're actually missing a significant portion of what we should be getting," he told the Senate Intelligence Committee on May 1.
But the senators and representatives have had more important work to do this summer than fix FISA flaws. As more terror plots unfolded in Britain and the United States, as a National Intelligence Estimate warned of a heightened threat environment, as the commander of U.S. Northern Command warned that al-Qaida has cells present in this country, Democrats in Congress have had different and more partisan priorities.
In a mad dash for the doors before August recess, they passed a stopgap measure that gives them political cover in the event of a terrorist attack while they're on vacation. And they have the gall to tell critics of the bill that its civil liberties shortcomings are the fault of McConnell and the administration.
The tragedy here, other than a national security official trying to fend off an attack on the homeland with one arm tied behind his back, is that there are serious issues involving technology and civil liberties that need to be addressed in the FISA law. And people who are accountable to the electorate, not anonymous federal judges, should make critical oversight decisions of surveillance operations.
A responsible Congress would have gone to work on these issues months ago. Unfortunately, such issues are of trivial importance to the Democratic leadership.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
JWR contributor Jonathan Gurwitz, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, is a co-founder and twice served as Director General of the Future Leaders of the Alliance program at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. In 1986 he was placed on the Foreign Service Register of the U.S. State Department.
Jonathan Gurwitz Archives
© 2007, Jonathan Gurwitz
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Peter Funt
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
John Kass
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Michael Reagan
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
Cathy Young
Mort Zuckerman

Eric Allie
Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Nate Beeler
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
Daryl Cagle
Patrick Chappatte
John Cole
Paul Combs
J. D. Crowe
John Darkow
Bill Day
John Deering
Sean Delonas
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Randall Enos
Mallard Fillmore
David Fitzsimmons
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Mike Keefe
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Gary McCoy
Rick McKee
Jack Ohman
Jeff Parker
Milt Priggee
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Steve Sack
Bill Schorr
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
David Ray Skinner
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Christopher Weyant
Larry Wright
Dan Wasserman
Adam Zyglis

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|