Glenn Greenwald: The Lawless Surveillance State

[babylonsister]

The Lawless Surveillance State

There are several vital points raised by the new revelations in The New York Times that "the N.S.A.'s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before" and includes both pre-9/11 efforts to tap without warrants into the nation's domestic communications network as well as the collection of vast telephone records of American citizens in the name of the War on Drugs. The Executive Branch and the largest telecommunications companies work in virtually complete secrecy -- with no oversight and no notion of legal limits -- to spy on Americans, on our own soil, at will.

More than anything else, what these revelations highlight -- yet again -- is that the U.S. has become precisely the kind of surveillance state that we were always told was the hallmark of tyrannical societies, with literally no limits on the government's ability or willingness to spy on its own citizens and to maintain vast dossiers on those activities. The vast bulk of those on whom the Government spies have never been accused, let alone convicted, of having done anything wrong. One can dismiss those observations as hyperbole if one likes -- people want to believe that their own government is basically benevolent and "tyranny" is something that happens somewhere else -- but publicly available facts simply compel the conclusion that, by definition, we live in a lawless surveillance state, and most of our political officials are indifferent to, if not supportive of, that development.

That's precisely why our political class is about to bestow amnesty on telecoms which broke multiple laws in how they enabled the government to spy on us, even though what the telecoms did -- on purpose and for years -- is unquestionably illegal. Our political leaders in both parties plainly want this limitless surveillance to continue, and they don't think that telecoms do anything wrong even when they work with the government in spying on Americans in ways that are against the law.

And they're saying that explicitly. The legislation jointly created and about to be enacted by Jay Rockefeller, Dick Cheney, Congressional Republicans and Harry Reid -- with a vital assist from the Jane-Harman-led "Blue Dogs" in the House -- is all designed to conceal and protect this state of affairs and to enable it to grow.

more...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/12/16/telecoms/index.html

Related thread/NYT article:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2475663

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. The somewhat strange and illogical actions and positions of many Dems

in Washington on this issue could easily be the result of selected blackmailing of members of Congress by BushCo. They have had many years to collect info on Dem members. It is the perfect cover in many ways. The fig leaf of loyal opposition can be maintained.

[babylonsister]

2. That could be but I'm getting really weary of making excuses for the

spineless Dems who are supposed to represent us. They're doing a worthless job of it.

[L. Coyote]

3. K & R

[HCE SuiGeneris]

4. Peeling away the onion skins of democracy

pretty soon we will have nothing but tears protecting our eyes from such actions.