--- In [email protected], "Patrick Gillam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Judy, thanks for the Gonzales remarks. He does > make the FISA process sound prolonged and > complicated. I wonder how long it really takes? > > Notice he omitted giving any kind of concrete > example, such as, "The FISA process may take a > week, but the intelligence we're seeking may only > be available for a few hours over the next 24."
Yup, good observation. It probably does vary, but I seriously doubt it takes a week if they've got a hot one. I mean, the whole point is to enable NSA to start surveillance *immediately* on an emergency basis. > I wonder if he omitted metrics because he's a > poor communicator, or he's obfuscating. I'm > thinking both reasons apply. > > The other element of his rationale is, they may > not have good-enough evidence to get a FISA > warrant. Yeah, that's the one I'm betting on. They don't want to *have* to have good-enough evidence. That's what he's obfuscating. His explanation sounds like pure rationalization to me. I'll bet the emergency authorization takes virtually no time--after all, it's an emergency, right? If the grounds for the wiretap are iffy enough to make people sit there and wrinkle their brows and stroke their beards and consult back and forth with their colleagues for a while before giving approval, it can't be that much of an emergency in the first place. The whole thing just doesn't hold water. It's cobbled together as an excuse. (And you're right, Gonzales is a very poor communicator, which makes him a lousy obfuscator as well.) This is all part of Cheney's "Unitary Executive" notion that he's been panting to implement from the time when he was Ford's chief of staff. It's what he calls "reclaiming executive authority," or removing all restraints and checks and balances on executive power. It's a matter of principle with him; it's just generally a Good Thing for the president to have more power rather than less, so he doesn't really feel there's any need to justify any of it--that's merely an exercise for the record. (Did you know Cheney's middle name was "Bruce"??) > What do they do in Britain? I'm trying to remember. Their oversight isn't judicial; authorization is done by one of the ministries. I don't recall reading that it's significantly more or less restrictive than in the U.S., but I really don't know the details. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
