If You Are Interested In The Authority Of Presidents To Gather Intelligence....

Here is an interesting letter by an Assistant Attorney General. Since it is in PDF format and looks as if it has been photocopied, I do not know if it is real but it has come through fairly reliable news sources.

Although the press is insisting on a less than truthful labeling the recent NSA brouhaha as a domestic spying program, it is not purely domestic. It is targeted at communication between foreign sources and domestic receivers or vice-versus. AS September 11 the has shown us. The threats can come from our soil by foreign combatants and these types of tools are necessary for the security of our people.

The risk is that the program transforms itself to a domestic intelligence gathering program for political purposes. This is what the FISA court was established for, so that purely domestic spying has oversight.

I personally think that spying on the foreign communication of known al-Queda operatives is not only desirable but is necessary given that the risks could include large scale attacks that can be very costly in property and life, as September 11th has shown.

Remember, that our nation is at war and this means that aggressive measures must be taken in order to ensure the safety and well being of the population. I think that GWB is doing a good job on this account.