Friday, March 20, 2009 By Samuel Park [ArticleImageHyperLink] Advertising Domestic spying is not a bad policy (January 27, 2006) -- When it comes to national security, the president should conduct all measures available. Without the president’s actions to obtain ultimate security, serious security breaches would endanger Americans’ lives. Recently, President Bush and the National Security Agency have been criticized for wrongly collecting information from Americans. However, to accuse the president for violating our rights would be somewhat extreme. Bush authorized the NSA to conduct surveillance on people who might have connections to Al-Qaida, requiring the need to tap phone lines and track calls connecting a source in America with suspected foreign countries, as Afghanistan. This secret surveillance on America shouldn’t greatly threaten Americans unless one is tied to terrorists or is suspected of being a terrorist. This “domestic spying” reassures me that all the possible measures are being done to protect me. The objective of “domestic spying” is to follow leads about terrorist activities—not citizens who have violated other laws. A congressional resolution, known as the Authorization to use Military Force, which was passed a few days after the September 11 attacks, justifies Bush’s actions to create a domestic spying program. The resolution validates Bush’s actions to protect the nation from foreign groups that pose threats. The passing of the resolution would include the president’s procedures to protect the nation by warrantless domestic surveillance. This action was acknowledged by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court, which was created in 1978 after public protest over government surveillance on anti-war and civil rights protesters. Domestic spying would strengthen security by halting terrorists’ schemes in their tracks and be another step towards stopping terrorism. For those of us who are concerned that this will violate the right to have our own security, well, what is it that you fear the government will find out about you?

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