J
Jim Yanik
Jim said:Mac wrote:
[snip]
Well, the CIA and especially the FBI have a pretty bad track
record for respecting the limits in the constitution.
But it is my opinion that the people in the NSA understand the
constitution. You can bet that president Bush's illegal order to
monitor US persons without FISA or other court approval was leaked
by someone in the NSA who was disgusted and appalled.
Maybe. Or perhaps it was noticed by someone in the telecom
industry. After all, wiretaps are no longer conducted with
alligator clips in a phone closet anymore. RF interception doesn't
work well for fiber optic systems either. The NSA needs a hook into
the telecom's switching equipment. That leaves behind lots of
evidence in log files, network traffic reports, etc.
As far as I can see, without a bona-fide declaration of war from
the congress, precious little slack should be accorded to the
president on matters of the constitution and limits to executive
power.
The courts have ruled that a state of war isn't justification for
violating provisions of the constitution or the law. And, we're not
even officially at war right now.
Do you think that FISA overrides the Constitution? I don't.
Clinton didn't,either.
http://nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200601240827.asp
I'd say this guy's qualifications indicate he knows what he's talking
about.
And we ARE "officially at war" right now.
Please cite the specific declaration of war.
READ the article.
In both Afghanistan and Iraq, we are (supposedly) acting under the
authority of the UN Security Council.
So what? CONGRESS still authorized the US Military.