Fort Meade, Md. – President Bush paid a visit to the ultra-secret National Security Agency on Wednesday to underscore the importance of his controversial order authorizing surveillance without warrants in the terrorism era.
“We must learn the intentions of the enemies before they strike,” Bush told reporters after speaking behind closed doors to NSA staffers and touring the agency. “That’s what they do here. They work to protect us.”
Bush’s stop had two purposes. He was aiming to boost the morale of those carrying out the work of a 4-year-old domestic- spying program in which the government monitors the international communications of people in the U.S. whom it believes to have connections to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The president also is leading a wide-ranging campaign by his administration to defend the program, under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike who argue that it may be illegal.
Hearings on Capitol Hill on whether Bush has the authority to allow the program begin in less than two weeks.
“We’ve seen that part of the terrorist strategy is to place operatives inside of our country. They blend in with the civilian population. They get their orders from overseas, and then they emerge to strike from within,” he told reporters.
Democrats and other critics contend Bush already had that authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passed by Congress in 1978, and that he could have proceeded with intelligence eavesdropping deemed emergency, as long as he notified a FISA court within 72 hours to seek approval.
Bush has argued that process isn’t sufficiently flexible.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., attacked Bush’s explanation.
“Obviously, I support tracking down terrorists. I think that’s our obligation. But I think it can be done in a lawful way. Their argument that it’s rooted in the authority to go after al-Qaeda is far- fetched,” she said, apparently referring to a congressional resolution passed after Sept. 11, which the Bush administration says gives the president authority to order electronic surveillance to protect the nation from terrorists.
“Their argument that it’s rooted in the Constitution inherently is kind of strange because we have FISA, and FISA operated very effectively, and it wasn’t that hard to get their permission,” she said.
