National Security Agency Leak: A Few Americans Investigated; Better than Another London

by: Steve Yuhas

It has become typical mainstream media behavior: a columnist pens a book critical of the Bush administration, intelligence service or law enforcement; then the columnist publishes “revelations” that are timed to coincide with the publication of the book in the paper that he works for (it does not matter how “important” they believe the allegations or truths to be – they just have to be times to come out with the book) and then the Bush administration goes on the defensive.  The newest rendition of this new media approach to reporting concerns the President’s authorization of the National Security Agency (NSA) to “spy” on American citizens suspected of dealing with terrorists.

The reporter is James Risen and that paper the New York Times (yes, the same NYT that gave us Jayson Blaire and 50 front page stories on Abu Ghraib and withheld information about Saddam’s abuses against his own people – but I digress) and the book is called; well we’ll keep the title out for fear of free publicity, but it discloses the “secret” that President Bush allowed the NSA to use telephone and email surveillance on American citizens about 30 times since September 11, 2001.

Hardly seems like a revelation and the President admitted that he used his authority as Commander in Chief to do exactly what the articles detailed; unfortunately now the enemy knows how we gather yet another facet of intelligence.

In case you forgot – September 11, 2001 is the day that terrorists hijacked four American planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania; killing over 3,000 people.

Of course the New York Times did not tell her readers that the stories coincided with a book by the author of the articles; nor did the Times feel it necessary to disclose that the President used his authority as Commander in Chief in consultation with the Senate and that lawmakers knew what was going on.  Nope, all of that went untold so that Risen could have his headline that America was spying on her own.

It just so happens that the story broke as the Senate was debating, and filibustering, the renewal of the Patriot Act (the law that allows the government to use the same tools to fight those who want to behead us as it uses to catch dope pushers).  The filibuster could not be broken and President Bush scrapped his recorded radio address about the historic Iraqi elections to remind the world that the terrorist threat would not expire when the Patriot act did on December 31st and that Senators should pass it.

"In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment,” he said.  The Senate’s delay to reauthorize the Patriot Act "endangers the lives of our citizens."

Democrats and some Republicans took no time at all to pounce on Bush for spying on American citizens, forget for just a moment that only 30 people were looked into under the executive order and that those people were cleared by the President to be looked at as threats to national security.  Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that while the government must fight the war on terror it must “follow the laws and respect the Constitution while it protects Americans' security and liberty."  It does that – to a fault.

Perhaps some Republicans and the entire Democratic caucus, less the few reasonable ones, could point to an abuse that occurred during these secret wire taps or at least one “victim” of the Patriot Act before they place national security and the security of every single American squarely in the laps of the legislative branch?  As far as anyone can tell – not a single “victim” of the Patriot Act has come forward to tell their story – has anyone lost their library privileges as a result of the Act?

It is apparent that many in Washington forgot that over 3,000 people were killed by people who operated from inside the United States and that home grown terrorists were not only responsible for Oklahoma City, but were plotting with foreign terrorist organizations to detonate a dirty bomb in the United States and that the principle actors in the London bombings had been living in London for generations.

Maybe our political leaders forgot that when it comes to homeland security and the protection of the American people that in the game of cat and mouse that is intelligence that giving away the secrets of how intelligence is gathered is more important than who leaked the name of a non-covert analyst at the CIA (we did spend a lot of time and money trying to find out about that leak, though, even though the leaked person ended up with her husband on Vanity Fair).  One has to wonder if this leak from the NSA will have just as complete an investigation.

It is doubtful that the Congress or any special prosecutor will look into how the information got into the New York Times, but it is almost a certainty that Congress will want, and many have already begun to demand, hearings (those people and their hearings) about why, when, how and who was covered under these secret NSA wiretaps.  It seems not to matter that the information was leaked and the enemy again knows how the United States gathers intelligence: just like when the media released to the world that we knew Osama bin Laden’s satellite phone number and were monitoring it.

He stopped using it.

Intelligence in the war against terrorism cannot be intelligence bought and paid for using the tactics of the Cold War.  Instead of demanding investigations and chastising the President for using his authority to wage war against those who want to kill us, it would do the politicians in Washington well to stand by his side while the world watches us tear ourselves apart over a few wiretaps concerning information that the British certainly only dreamed about before domestic terrorists killed dozens of people one morning in London.

There is no question that there is a delicate balance between civil liberties and the ability of a nation to defend itself against terrorists, but when politicians become involved and begin using platitudes and ad hominem attacks against the President for stopping attacks against America by reinstating the allowances to protect Americans only about 30 times over the course of four years; I’d say the odds are good that the program was not abused. 

Since one has a better chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot four times in a row than one does of being inquired about by the federal government using the NSA or other terrorist watching agency; the chances that you or I were part of the 30 times is equally unlikely.  The message to the domestic terrorists, though, is don’t worry – Congress will look out for you.

As the President addresses the nation over this ridiculous complaint by some in both parties it would do legislators wise to consider that every power, authority and piece of intelligence that they deny to the President and keep for themselves is one less power that the military can use to hunt down and kill the enemy. 

Those who will do us harm count on the fact that America does not look at our own citizens on our own soil, but if there is good cause to look at them more now than ever before rather than risk a London style attack on US soil. 

The good news is that for every attack that has been thwarted since 2001 it could be that the NSA had a role to play; the bad news is that if any attack happens that the NSA was involved in before the politicians became involved – the blood will be on their hands.

Steve Yuhas is a columnist and radio talk show host on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego.  He may be reached at www.steveyuhas.com or steve@steveyuhas.com.