By Kenneth J. Theisen
When Congress rushed the passage of a massive surveillance bill, known as the Protect America Act of 2007, before its Congressional recess in August, Democrats claimed they would “fix” the bill which they conceded gave the Bush regime too many powers to spy on U.S. citizens and others. The law was set to expire in six months so that it could be “fine-tuned.” But recent Congressional action appears to confirm fears that the so-called fine-tuning will still leave the regime with spy powers greater than ever held by the executive branch.
On October 10, 2009 House Democrats pushed their version of the spy bill through two House committees. The version passed by the House Judiciary and Intelligence committee left out the retroactive immunity provision for private telecommunication companies that Bush has demanded. Bush has threatened to veto the bill if it does not legally protect companies that helped conduct electronic surveillance without court orders.
But even though the version of the bill passed in the House does not currently give retroactive protection to telecommunications companies, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer made it clear that the Bush Regime could still get this if it provides Congress with details of what the companies did that requires the immunity provision in the law.
The House version of the bill also establishes a new threshold for when the government has to seek a court order to listen in on American communications with foreigners. It also gives the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) a little more power to monitor intelligence agencies’ compliance with court orders. But the essence is that the law still leaves the Bush regime, and any possible future president, almost unchecked power to spy on millions of people without any court supervision or Congressional oversight. And the FISC court is notorious for rubber stamping government requests for warrants with very few such requests having ever been denied.
Under the law, the government may eavesdrop without a warrant on any communications conducted by a person reasonably believed to be outside the U.S. even if an U.S. citizen is on one end of the conversation as long as that person is not the “intended target” of the spying. Also all communications routed through the U.S. are subject to surveillance without warrants. Many emails and phone calls between people outside the U.S. are routed through this country. In effect, millions of communications daily are subject to this new law. And Congressional tinkering is doing nothing to change this.
The law passed in August requires court review, but only four months after the fact and only involving the regime’s general process for collecting intelligence. Individual cases are not subject to court review. In the version passed by the House committees this week, the government is allowed to spy on a foreign target or targets outside the country. But if the targets may be communicating with Americans, the government must get a “blanket” court order to conduct surveillance for up to twelve months. It also provides, in an “emergency,” for the regime to begin spying as long as court approval is sought within seven days, and it is approved within 45 days.
While pretending to be opposed to massive spying by the Bush regime, the Democratic congress is in effect going along with the program. It may “fine-tune” some aspects of the law, but this will not hinder the Bush regime. Before Congress passed the August law, the Bush regime was conducting massive surveillance and regardless of what Congress does with the new legislation, it will continue to do so.
We can not wait for a Democratic-led Congress to halt the fascistic program of the Bush regime. Again and again, the Democrats have proved they are not willing to do so. If you have been reading this site regularly you know that it will take a massive people’s movement to derail the regime. Putting hopes in Congress will only allow the regime to continue until it is too late to halt it.