by Kenneth J. Theisen
On February 1, 2008 the Protect America Act is set to expire. This surveillance law was passed in August of last year and granted massive spy powers to the Bush regime that allow it to spy on just about anyone, whether a U.S. citizen or not, and without regard to the restrictions of the fourth amendment which normally require a search warrant. The law was demanded by the Bush regime last year, but Congress set it to expire on February 1 in order to “fix problems” in the legislation.
Congress and the Bush administration have been wrangling over the details of the law since then. One of the sticking points has been whether to grant civil immunity against lawsuits to the telecommunications companies that have been cooperating with the Bush regime in spying on us all. Of course the Bush regime is saying that such immunity is essential, including making it retroactive. The Bush regime also is demanding that the law grant the executive branch even more surveillance powers, as if the present law – which creates a world of virtually ubiquitous spying on all forms of communication – is not expansive enough.
On Wednesday, January 23, 2008 Vice President Dick Cheney demanded that Congress extend and broaden the spy bill stating, “fighting the war on terror is a long-term enterprise” that should not expire. He said, “We’re reminding Congress that they must act now.” Cheney also made clear that the regime needs the cooperation of the telecommunication giants to spy on us. “The intelligence community doesn’t have the facilities to carry out the kind of international surveillance needed to defend this country since 9/11. In some situations, there is no alternative to seeking assistance from the private sector. This is entirely appropriate,” Cheney argued. Apparently the tens of billions of dollars given to spy agencies annually such as the National Security Agency just are not enough to spy on tens of millions of us.
The “Opposition” of the Democratic Party
And what are the Democrats, doing about this? The day before Cheney’s remarks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid attempted to extend the law without expanding it. This move was blocked by Senate Republicans. But extending the law is not acceptable. And any argument that it is acceptable is a vivid illustration of the World Can’t Wait Pledge – “that which you will not resist and mobilize to stop, you will learn, or be forced, to accept”.
This law already grants far greater spy powers than any president has ever legally had. The law should never been enacted, it is an extremely repressive, fascistic measure which anyone claiming to be progressive would oppose – but then the Democratic Party leadership essentially agrees that the executive branch should have massive spy powers. Their only disagreement with Bush et. al is about some details of those powers. They also are optimistic that the 2008 election that they will put executive power in their hands. Reid stated that if a law is not passed this week, he will require the Senate to stay in session over the weekend to get one passed. What a loyal lap dog. He is willing to work overtime to help the empire, even if it means helping the Bush regime, which he claims to despise.
On Thursday, January 24th, President Bush issued a written statement stating, “Congress’ action or lack of action on this important issue will directly affect our ability to keep Americans safe.” But safety for Americans is not what Bush wants. He wants to protect his regime. He wants immunity for the telecommunications companies so that more than a dozen lawsuits will be dismissed. He demands the ability to spy on everyone and anyone without any oversight or second guessing from anyone.
His regime has repeatedly violated the Constitution and he fears what these lawsuits will reveal to the public, if they are allowed to go forward. While the Bush regime maintains it is only spying on “terrorists and those who associate with terrorists,” they know that this is another big lie of the regime. The Bush regime represents an empire that feels threatened from everywhere, even as it continues its mission to dominate and bully the entire world. It has committed monstrous crimes as it pursues this mission, and it has engendered opposition from a range of political forces throughout the world. It fears that the widespread and still largely latent opposition of millions of people in this country could erupt into much needed massive political resistance. It is spying on millions of us. It is engaged in massive data mining of our records, phone calls, emails, etc. and it does not want this revealed. Bush also wants to maintain his imperial powers and to be allowed to “legally” continue this massive spying.
As is clear from the above, the Democrat-controlled Congress will not protect us. It is also interesting that none of the leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination have made the Protect America Act an issue in the campaign. But then maybe they expect to use the powers it grants after January 2009.