Spying on Americans may prove costly for President Bush

This issue has caused furor both in and outside the Congress by the Republicans since Democrat Senator Russ Feingold introduced the legislation on March 13, 2006 to censure President Bush for breaking the law by creating a secret domestic spying programme. This has further caused serious uproar in the Congress following publication of news by US Today newspaper on May 11 with regard to collecting and analysing millions of Americans' telephone calls since 9/11, 2001 by National Security Agency. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Republican, said that he would call major telephone companies that are participating in the NSA effort to verify the allegations. That has angered Democrats in the Congress to blast Republicans for not more aggressively monitoring the administration's anti-terrorism activities.

Actually former Vice-President Al-Gore's fierce speech at Constitutional Hall in Washington DC, sponsored by the Liberty Coalition and the American Constitution Society, triggered a spate of comments by lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, columnists, law professors on President Bush's authorisation of domestic surveillance on the citizens of America. While condemning the measures Al Gore urged upon the Attorney General of the United States to establish a special council to probe the allegation against President's flagrant violation of country's constitution and law.

In view of the growing discontent among all sections of the people in America over the domestic surveillance, President Bush came out to defend the measure 'in the interest of the country and Americans'. The President described it as "a terrorist surveillance programme" to divert the attention of the general people, who are supposed to be unconcerned and naive in the matter. In his remarks at Kansas State University President Bush said that allowing the National Security Agency to monitor the international phone calls and e-mails of Americans with suspected ties to terrorists can hardly be considered domestic spying. The White House Press Secretary again stated that spying on international calls to and from America does not come under the purview of domestic surveillance. All sorts of funny explanations are coming from the administration. President Bush further said that he acted within the gambit of the Constitution and the power given by the Congress after 9/11 episode to use force to stop terrorist attack on America. He emphatically said that he would continue the surveillance in the interest of the country and the people of America since America is at war against terrorism. On May 11, 2006 he denied of "mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans", but he neither denied nor confirmed the report in US Today.

Helen Thomas, 52-year veteran White House correspondent of UPI and now columnist for Hearst newspaper chain in her column stated that Bush administration has used the 9/11 attacks as his carte blanche to initiate domestic spying on Americans without court warrant in pursuit of terrorists, although the law is very clear on its court approval. Editor of Falls Church News-Press, Nicolas Benton commented: "We can only conclude that this administration is deliberately engaged in law breaking as much for the sake of the precedents it is setting for stepping outside the restraints of democratic due process as for the objectives it claims to be pursuing."

The claim by the President that Congress gave him power to use force necessary to protect the American people after 9/11 episode does not mean to introduce surveillance on the citizens of America. The target at that time was Osama-bin-Laden and his Al-Qaeda group. The fourth amendment in the constitution, which is a part of the bill of rights, implied the right of the people "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures".

Here is the result of two Gallup polls on this issue. A recent AP- Ipso poll indicates that 56 percent people believed that the Bush administration should seek a warrant from the court while another Gallup poll of January 24 gave the verdict that domestic surveillance was wrong without court approval and 58 percent are in favour of an appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the programme. Newsweek of May 13 last reported that 53 percent of Americans think that NSA's programme goes too far in invading people's privacy.

The story of domestic surveillance has come out at a time when half of his party's lawmakers have challenged him and passed a bill to ban torture. And the domestic spying programme has the potential to hurt him badly when he needs to establish credibility with the Americans. For the first time in his second term President Bush has been pushed to identical hot seat which eventually cost President Nixon his presidency in a disgraceful manner.

By and large, majority people hold the opinion that the President has violated the constitutional provision and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 bypassing the secret court in this regard.

Mohammad Amjad Hossain, a former diplomat, resides in Virginia.