By Kenneth J. Theisen, 9/19/07
On September 19, 2007 President Bush, in a photo op and
press availability, called for continuing and expanding the massive spy law
passed in August. The new law, the
Protect America Act of 2007 (PAA) had already given the Bush regime extended
new authority to spy on millions of Americans and virtually anyone else in the
world, but that is not enough for the Bush regime. Bush wants the law to become permanent and to
expand the regime’s surveillance powers.
For any fools that thought the Bush regime would moderate it fascist
agenda after the resignations of Rove and Gonzales, think again.
In arguing for the spy law to be expanded and continued,
Bush stated without the law, “Our national security professionals will
lose critical tools they need to protect our country. Without these tools, it will be harder to
figure out what our enemies are doing to train, recruit and infiltrate operatives
into America. Without these tools, our country will be much
more vulnerable to attack.” He made these remarks in a visit to the
National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters where a sign was hung for the
media. It read, “We won’t back
down. We never have. We never will.” This seems to be the slogan for the
Bush regime, as well as for the spies at the NSA.
Under the PAA, the Bush regime can eavesdrop on
communications conducted by a person “reasonably believed to be outside the U.
S.” even if an American is on the other end of the communication as long as the
American is allegedly not the intended target of the surveillance. The
government can also spy on all communications that are routed through the U.S. The law further allows searches and seizures
and data mining in certain situations.
All this can be done secretly and without warrants. This law was passed in August and is set to
expire six months from enactment. But as
expected the Bush regime wants more.
In his visit to the NSA Bush said, “The threat from al
Qaida is not going to expire in 135 days, so I call on Congress to make the
Protect America Act permanent.” Bush also wants to provide retroactive
immunity to telecommunications companies which have helped the government
conduct surveillance prior to January 2007 without a court order. Several such
companies are facing current lawsuits which would be dismissed if this change
becomes law.
The threat from the Bush regime will not expire in 135 days
either. As long as the regime continues,
our freedoms are at stake and the world will continue to be subject to the wars
and other crimes of the Bush regime.