We’ll return to the Shiite fundamentalist takeover of Iraq tomorrow, but today I can’t resist commenting on the terrible intelligence reform bill passed in a panic by a cowed Congress.
Until now the whole debate has revolved around a three-cornered conflict between congressional right-wingers who wanted to use the bill to impose harsh immigration reforms (killed); pro-military hard-liners like Duncan Hunter who wanted to protect the Pentagon’s intelligence turf (they surrendered); and the center-right coalition that backed the current bill, which contains several awful and scary provisions.
The impact of the civil liberties advocates was barely heard.
Here are some examples of what the bill does that is terrible. First, it dramatically increases the likelihood that intelligence will be even more politicized than it has been. Now, of course, intelligence agencies have always felt the pressure of politics. But by creating a National Intelligence Director beholden to the White House—an essentially political job—it means that all of the agencies will get their marching orders from a person whose main job is to carry out administration policy. The one good thing about intelligence agencies is that they are, by their very nature, tied to the truth by virtue of collecting facts and information. Policy makers are free to ignore (or, in Bush’s case, create) facts. Now it will get worse.
Second, by encouraging spying on so-called “lone-wolf” terrorist suspects, people not connected to any foreign organization or source, it means that the CIA and FBI will have a much freer hand to spy on individual Americans.
Third, by enhancing CIA-FBI cooperation and strengthening “domestic intelligence” forces, we will see more and more CIA spying on Americans. Consider the case of the arson in Maryland this week, in which several dozen homes under construction were burned. If environmental groups come under suspicion and case is declared “terrorist related,” then the CIA can start spying on environmental action groups here and abroad, using all of the CIA’s virtually unbridled tactics and technology.
There’s a lot more. Does anyone care? Not in Congress. Even the Democrats are stupidly cheering this bill. (Sen. Rockefeller, shame on you!) The ACLU at least is worried, noting that the bill creates a de facto national ID card and has little or no safeguards to protect civil liberties. Here’s what they had to say:
"In its attempt to reform our intelligence systems by an artificial deadline, Congress appears willing to accept legislation that will diminish our freedom and privacy," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "While Sens. Collins and Lieberman and Reps. Hoekstra and Harman should be commended for their hard work, their final measure unfortunately includes provisions that would undermine our civil liberties."
The bill would centralize the intelligence community’s surveillance powers, increasing the likelihood for government abuses, the ACLU said, without creating sufficient corresponding safeguards.
In letters sent to the House and Senate today, the ACLU said that the legislation contains provisions that would:
- Unnecessarily expand wiretapping to erase a key constitutional safeguard and expand the "guilt by association" material support law, including making mere membership in a designated terrorist organization a criminal offense for the first time. The 9/11 Commission did not call for any of these provisions in its report.
- Create a weakened civil liberties board that risks becoming the proverbial fox guarding the hen house. The board would be appointed by the president, serve at his pleasure, and have no subpoena power.
- Standardize drivers’ licenses and state identification cards, creating a de facto national ID. This cosmetic "quick fix" would not effectively deter terrorists, the ACLU said, but would threaten our freedom and our right to privacy by making it easier for the federal government to constantly track our movements.
You can read the ACLU press release here, and you can read the entire ACLU letter to Congress here . I urge you to do so.
