About those "People with links to Al Queda"

I heard somebody on Public radio a little while ago defending the pResident by saying that the spying was limited to "people with links to Al Queda" . He conceded that we have no clue as to the true scope of this operation.

How many people have been charged and sent to GITMO or God knows where because of "suspected links to Al Queda" and then found to be totally innocent?

The Bush* administration's track record on AQ operatives (not to mention their #2, #2, #2, #2, #2 and #3 men being killed/captured/located over and over and over and over again) hasn't been too good. Without an impartial referee (FISA Judge?) to say that the Government has legitimate probable cause to monitor somebody's phones how can we be sure that they are acting in an honest or competent manner?

Bush* seemed to be saying that this applied only to AQ associated individuals and we should "trust" him. Yeah, right. Just like Jose Padilla was a "dirty bomber". Or that lawyer in Seattle was an AQ operative. The point is, these guys belong to the Ready! Shoot! Aim! school and cannot be trusted to do ANYTHING right when it comes to fighting terror.

By this game, we are linked to Osama. Fortunately, bush is more closely linked to OBL than most of us. After all, didn't he help get the bin Laden family out of the US so they would be out of harm's way?

OK, I'll say it - if you are planning a terrorist attack and the President or whoever wants to spy on you illegally, I say go for it!

Except that in the hands of a madman like our dear "president" it's a very dangerous thing. This is why there must be control. Checks and balances were put into place to guard us from this very kind of idiot. They can't be ignored.

Difficult to say ahead of time, isn't it? Maybe the President (or whoever) should just routinely monitor all calls and activities of everyone. I mean, if somebody in an Al Qaeda cell calls Domino's to order a pizza, and then you call that same Domino's right afterwards, who do we know that you aren't involved with Al Qaeda, and that you're using that Domino's franchise to relay information?

And maybe we just didn't catch you this time, pal. So we'll keep an eye on all your comings and goings, and then we're gonna nail you for pickin' your feet in Poughkeepsie!

Or, maybe we shouldn't be doing all this cloak-and-dagger crap in the first place . . .

surveillance on al-Qaeda operatives?

Both Bush and Rice have said this spying without a warrant was done only on those with ties to al-Qaeda. Its absolutely ridiculous for them to imply that a FISA judge would reject a legitimate request to wiretap those with an al-Qaeda affiliation, particularly with the FISA court's history of warrant approvals. That's how I know this whole thing stinks.