"In The Name Of War" ~ Anything Else Is A Luxury You Don’t Need
President Ronald Reagan once stated "the nine most feared words in the English language are - "I'm with the Government and I'm here to help."
Words we will likely be haunted by for a long time to come....
It seems of late, that the proclamation of "in the name of war" is becoming far more commonplace within the U.S. government than many people like or feel comfortable with, due to the serious potential of demolishing the Constitution and Bill of Rights as a consequence. Yet, lawmakers are using this term more frequently to justify anything intrusive that they want done, but were not able to do before.
The last time Congress told the American people that the major reform of our intelligence community was good for us and would protect us from "another terrorist attack" we got the Patriot Act and then the USA Patriot Act. Both of, which have shown themselves to have given law enforcement officials such broad-based powers that even the sponsor of the USA Patriot Act has, at least once before, said the powers have been used in unwarranted abusive ways.
So merely because Congress is once again telling the American people that this new National Intelligence Reform Bill is good for us and will protect us from "another terrorist attack." Does not mean they are telling us everything we need to know that is contained in this 243-page Bill that sets out to redefine everything from the role of the new Intelligence Director to what national intelligence means to how our civil rights and liberties will be handled and by whom.
So to help people understand what is actually contained in the Bill and what it means, I will be doing a [comprehensive] series about this Bill section by section. I caution you however, some of the reports might be long due to the content of each section and as such. If you are looking for a quick fix answer…go read the tabloid newspapers. If on the other hand you want to understand what is going on…then spend the time needed to understand. If for no other reason than to base your future arguments (pro or con) on facts rather than assumptions or opinions only.
A Prelude Into The Minds Of Government
To begin this series I believe it is important that we first step back in time one week to a conference that took place Dec. 1, 2004, at an IT conference held in Washington, which intentionally barred the media from attending at the request of George Tenet.
WASHINGTON, (UPI) Dec. 1 -- "I know that these actions will be controversial in this age when we still think the Internet is a free and open society with no control or accountability, but ultimately the Wild West must give way to governance and control."
These were the words of Former CIA Director George Tenet, as he called for:
"tough new security measures to guard against attacks on the United States using the Internet, which he called a potential Achilles heel for our financial stability and physical security." "Tenet's speech articulated widely shared concerns among U.S. intelligence and homeland security officials that telecommunications -- and specifically the Internet -- represent a backdoor through which terrorists and other enemies of the United States can attack the country, even though some progress has been made in securing the physical infrastructure."
"The national media, including United Press International, were excluded from the event at Tenet's request, organizers said, but UPI was given an account of the speech by a member of the audience. The quotes were verified by a source close to the former director."
The Intelligence and Terrorism Reform Act of 2004
SEC. 1012. REVISED DEFINITION OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE.
My Opinion: It should be plainly apparent that the vague and ambiguous language here, means that our civil rights and civil liberties will be grossly redefined and with it, we are likely to see an increase of intrusions upon our civil rights and liberties ~ in the name of a war that has no end in sight.
Paragraph (5) of section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947(50 U.S.C. 401a) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(5) The terms ‘national intelligence’ and ‘intelligence related to national security’ refer to all intelligence, regardless of the source from which derived and including information gathered within or outside the United States, that—
‘‘(A) pertains, as determined consistent with any guidance issued by the President, to more than one United States Government agency; and
‘‘(B) that involves—
‘‘(i) threats to the United States, its people, property, or interests;
‘‘(ii) the development, proliferation, or use of weapons of mass destruction; or
‘‘(iii) any other matter bearing on United States national or homeland security.’’.
SEC. 1061. PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES OVERSIGHT BOARD.
My Opinion: This Board is purely for cosmetic purposes to appease those who will take exception to the provisions of this Bill, in whole or in part. As the Board has no actual authority, investigative or otherwise, of significant value and serves really only as an [advisory board], appointed by the President, and will undoubtedly consist of those that are loyal to his agendas and interests, rather than that of the people and the protection of our civil rights and liberties.
(a) FINDINGS.—Consistent with the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In conducting the war on terrorism, the Federal Government may need additional powers and may need to enhance the use of its existing powers.
(2) This potential shift of power and authority to the Federal Government calls for an enhanced system of checks and balances to protect the precious liberties that are vital to our way of life.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD.—There is established within the Executive Office of the President a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Board’’).
(c) FUNCTIONS.—
(1) ADVICE AND COUNSEL ON DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICY.—For the purpose of providing advice to the President or to the head of any department or agency of the executive branch, the Board shall—
(A) review proposed regulations and executive branch policies related to efforts to protect the Nation from terrorism, including the development and adoption of information sharing guidelines under subsections (d) and (f) of section 1016;
(B) review the implementation of laws, regulations, and executive branch policies related to efforts to protect the Nation from terrorism, including the implementation of information sharing guidelines under subsections (d) and (f) of section 1016;
(C) advise the President and the head of any department or agency of the executive branch to ensure that privacy and civil liberties are appropriately considered in the development and implementation of such regulations and executive branch policies; and
(D) in providing advice on proposals to retain or enhance a particular governmental power, consider whether the department, agency, or element of the executive branch concerned has explained—
(i) that there is adequate supervision of the use by the executive branch of the power to ensure protection of privacy and civil liberties;
(ii) that there are adequate guidelines and oversight to properly confine the use of the power; and
(iii) that the need for the power, including the risk presented to the national security if the Federal Government does not take certain actions, is balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties.
Because this section is excessively long, please refer to the (right side bar) for the (pdf) link to the House version of this Bill if you want to read more.
By Christopher Cross
