I must begin this rant by stating the obvious - both North America and Europe are in constant threat mode due to terrorist plans and activities operating both inside and outside their regions. It would take only an a fool to undermine democratic efforts at thwarting such measures. But SURPRISE SURPIRSE the leak on Bush's authorized wire-tapping program has occured, and because of it, serious implications are now realities.
First and foremost, it's been recognized that the U.S. has prevented at least 12 major al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in its great country since September 11, and the majority of these cases were solved by successful eavesdropping on telephone calls and email messages from terrorist cells both nationally and abroad. As well, thousands of leads into smaller plots have been uncovered, and are currently being monitored and followed by FBI and CIA authorities as we speak. The magnitude of the next terrorist attack hitting America or Europe cannot possibly be
understood by the common individual. In 2002, a man by the name of Jose Padilla, an Illinois gang-member turned Muslim, was speaking on a regular basis with top al-Qaeda commanders in organizing plans to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb in a major U.S. city. Had it not been for the surveillance and quick action of the CIA, it is presumed that casualties in the hundreds of thousands would have been the result.
Now ask yourself this question: why is it such a bad thing that Bush secretly supported such a program? The media seems to be the first to bash the American President, when they themselves were the focus of one of the twelve potential attacks. It boggles my mind to read about how peaved the "majority" of Americans are about this incognitive plan when it has been put in place for their general safety. Would these people have been equally upset had such a program been in place before 9/11, possibly preventing it? I don't think that our society in general understands the extent of this war; it is not just against a country or a region, but also about political and moral ideologies. I would personally prefer to lose just a few of my civil liberties if it meant keeping me safe.
This measure was a secret program and exposing it to the world did nothing but help our enemies. Those responsible for releasing such private information should be jailed for essentially co-conspiring with terrorists. I think there is a serious lack of importance placed on how serious the situation truly is. President Bush was 110% correct in his decision to institute such a program, and I would urge him to continue such measures, in addition to creating more.
As a citizen who enjoys my personal and social freedoms, I believe that the government has every right to continue spying/eavesdropping on conversations and messages being communicated both within this country as well as internationally. Hats off to Bush who had the decency and common sense to take another positive step in the war against terror, whether his naysayers liked it or not.
- Josh Bower
