George Bush was rightfully denounced for his Administration’s false statements to both the public and the United Nations on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — the rationale for our invasion of that country. There was little apparent concern from Bush or his aides over the veracity or proof of their assertions as opposed to the desired outcome. The same mentality is in open display with President Obama this month as he and his aides continue to increase the claims of “successes” from the warrantless surveillance programs as public opposition grows. In this case, the increasing claims are being made in a war on privacy, including an effort to redefine privacy in a new surveillance-friendly image. We are now up to over 50 “potential plots” and Obama is sounding distinctly Bush-like in statements today about how these programs “saved lives.” The public, which learned this month that it was openly lied to about the programs in earlier hearings, is expected to accept these assurances on faith alone.
Speaking Wednesday morning during a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama repeated the new “over 50” claim and said “this is a circumscribed, narrow system directed at us being able to protect our people.” Once again, he considers not violating the fourth amendment directly by simply listening to calls is an admirable compromise on his part. He again cited the FISA court in a ludicrous suggestion that the court offers any meaningful review. He then added that putting the entire country under these surveillance programs was beneficial. He insisted that by effectively issuing a national security letter for the entire country, he stopped dozens of attacks and “as a consequence, we’ve saved lives.” Once again, there is very little push back on such claims by the media and even less from Congress.
Before we get into the latest round of claims to justify these programs, it is worth noting again that the success of any program does not excuse its unconstitutionality. While, as previously discussed, the Supreme Court (unwisely) stripped pen register evidence of protections under the fourth amendment, it has never signed off on this type of massive data collection and monitoring of all citizens.
Now to the current count. You will recall that allies of the White House originally claimed one thwarted plot. They then increased that number to two and then to four. As opposition mounted, they started to claim “dozens” of “potential” plots. Now we are up to over 50 according to NSA chief Gen. Keith Alexander.
This is getting to look like those old Joe Isuzu commercials where a spokesman openly inflates claims to sell a car. The problem is that we were just lied to. Not only did the Administration lie about the programs but these very senators eliciting the new claims were the same who remained silent in the face of testimony that they knew was false. James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, to the Senate in March. Clapper said unequivocally that the N.S.A. was not gathering data on millions of Americans. That is obviously false and Senators hearing the testimony knew that the public was being lied to. Senator Wyden asked Clapper: “Does the N.S.A. collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” Clapper responded: “No, sir. Not wittingly.”
However, it was done “wittingly” when you demand all of the calls for all citizens, right? Clapper will argue that he simply defines collecting data differently from the vast majority of humanity. However, courts regularly reject such subjective views of the truth. The point of the answer was to assure the public that they have nothing to worry about — the same message being given by members now that the truth has come out. Clapper’s testimony was for the public to hear and believe — even though Senators knew it to be untrue. Keep in mind that we have two surveillance programs now being reported — one collecting all call information and one involving email data.
Clapper has recently said that his testimony was “the least untrue” statement that he could make. Yet, of course that would still make it an untrue statement — which most people call a lie and lawyers call perjury. Indeed, when Roger Clemens was prosecuted for untrue statements before Congress, he was not told of the option to tell the least untrue statement on steroid use.
Now the same Senators are assuring the public that they can now rest assured because the same administration is claiming over 50 successes.
Even if some citizens were willing to give this Administration and these Senators the benefit of the doubt, consider the following questions:
What is a “potential plot”? — The Administration does not define what “potential” means. There is obviously an interest to count every and any possible claimed plot in the face of the exodus of supporters from the White House. IF this were a real plot, were hundreds of people arrested? What steps were taken to avert each of these plots?
Where are all of the prosecutions? — The Justice Department has prosecuted earlier cases on the thinnest connections and associations. Why haven’t we seen dozens of prosecutions for these plots? Indeed, this Administration is not shy about claiming any and all victories over terrorism. Yet, suddenly we hear that there conspiracies on every front and around every corner — thwarted simply by denying privacy to Americans.
What was the other evidence or sources? — Just as the Bush Administration claimed that torture led to saving lives and finding Bin Laden (later discredited), Obama is claiming to have saved lives with these warrantless surveillance programs as if they were the only source of information. That does not make sense. This is the same president who says that he would show some evidence to a secret court before reading the content or listening to calls. The calls themselves could not be the evidence used to intercept the calls, even on the ridiculed FISA court. As with torture, there is always other sources of evidence but the Administration is eager to portray these programs as the reason some Americans (unnamed) are alive today.
Why should we believe them? — With members (and of course the Justice Department) entirely silent concerning the perjury of Clapper, the message is clear: both the White House and Congress will not move against officials who lie to the public to lull them into a sense of security. The fact that these members will not even discuss Clapper’s perjury illustrates the farcical purpose of these hearings. As George Bush once again, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee—I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, ‘Fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.'” And he knew something about fooling folks.
RTC,
I don’t think Seymour Hersh, who I respect immensely, is right about “everyone knowing” what was going on with the WMD lies. I’ve read plenty of other accounts wherein the depth of Cheney’s lying has been exposed, and many Democrats were legitimately surprised to find out how bad it really was.
I also don’t think the “totality” of this program is all that different from what’s been going on for a long time. Cops could dump LUDs without warrants for decades (Smith v. Maryland). And unless this surveillance winds up costing us 6 trillion and killing and maiming millions, it will always be many degrees less evil than the Iraq war.
Further, the programs is something that we Americans can do something about. We could start sending more Progressive Democrats to Washington, since they’ve been against this kind of crap forever. Do that, and we could change the program. Don’t do it, and we get what we deserve. As long as Republican voters who say they don’t like this snooping keep voting for the Republican party, almost all of whom are gung-ho about a unitary executive, we’ll get a unitary executive. But if they decide they care more about their privacy than they do about forcing rape victims to give birth to rape babies, or tax cuts, or deporting immigrants, then we’ll keep getting unitary executives.
The Iraq war, on the other hand, was something that we couldn’t do diddly crap about, because the GOP was in control, Cheney was lying to everyone, and a bunch of Hawkish Democrats (non-Progressives), were more than happy to believe the BS.Once it got rolling, it was on, and there was no way to stop it. That is simply not true of the surveillance state, which we could easily put an end to by electing more Progressives next year, and in 2016.
Will that happen? I doubt it. Apparently, too many Americans are still scared feces-less over 9-11, and are more than willing to sacrifice their privacy for some lie about keeping them safe.
It’s easy to see this tremendous incentive for this or any future administration to continue this surveillance program. No Chief Executive wants to get caught with his (and someday, her) pants down. They will go to any extreme to prevent an attack that can be attached to their legacy. So you expect to see this continue, no matter what Congress might pass, and it will expand, as all govt programs do, until we’re monitored like East Germans.
Scot Supak,
I’m one for making distinctions, but given the totality of what this surveillance program means to the essence of liberty in America, I think it may prove more destructive for our society than the Iraqi war, and that’s saying a lot.
I don’t mean to downplay the enormity of the betrayal of the American people by the Cheney cabal; it was epic crime.
And democrats? According to Seymour Hersh of the New York Times, who tried to warn us about the absence of WMD, everybody in Washington knew what was going on, that it was all a lie. So yeah, damn them, too.
But yeh, your point about drawing distinctions is valid and well made.
Even if we accept Obama’s claim (which we may not) that “50 terrorist plots” were foiled and the Big Brother surveillance program “saved lives,” WHERE is the PROOF that only such a widespread capturing of private information made it happen?
Where is the proof of that?
Where is the proof that those same “50 plots” could not have been — and, in fact, were not — stopped by other means, less Big Brother-like means?
How do we know these “50 terrorist plots” were not stopped by using correctly warranted wiretaps or even physical observation by government investigators, such as agents tailing suspects or infiltrating their social and political organizations and/or events?
I can’t help remembering that the Russian government TWICE warned our government about the two brothers involved in the Boston Marathon bombing, yet our government brushed off those warnings and didn’t even initiate in-person surveillance, such as tailing.
It seems our government was too busy culling through 50 billion emails and phone records of Americans, the vast majority of whom have nothing to do with terrorism and are not even under suspicion nor ought to be under surveillance.
A large mass of govt servant leaders & even Ms Alabama believe the rest of us & our nation’s security is at such a risk that spying on us like any other 3rd world sheeet hole dictatorship country is a great thing.
Well if it’s such a great thing & they’re claiming it’s legal I think we citizens owe it to the country’s security we need to get together & take turns standing next to our congress, senators, police, judges, nsa, etc… with a running camera & microphone 24/7.
You know, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?
Just video everything, their toilet habits, when they’re makin out with their girlfriends, wifes.
Then of course we need to draw their blood for the DNA test, even though were completely untrained to do so.
Examine their medical records/tax records looking for terrorist Al ciadea.
And then we’ve got to break out the latex gloves & finger that ole Senator Graham’s bunghole & use the same dirty glove down his wives/grandma’s panties.
Sarc off.
Geez, can anyone doubt those people advocating/doing this type of Nazi BS are not completely insane from the poisoned air/water/food/vaccines/geoengineering!
Dear Mr. Kauten,
“What did you think generated the Big Bang?”
This?:
Oh, yeah, because lying about WMD to start a $6 trillion dollar war that maimed and killed millions is the same as lying (of fudging) on surveillance. Exactly the same.
Geesh.
And for the commenter who suggested that the lying to get us into Iraq was also Democrats’ fault, well, again, bad comparison. The Dems who voted for the war made the mistake of believing Dick Cheney’s lies, and that is a far cry from doing the actual lying.
The inability to see the matters of degree separating this President from President Bush makes your arguments weak, and your judgement suspect. If all lies are the same, and we can make no differentiation based on the severity, then we’ve completely ignored one of the basic principles behind our judicial system, ie, not all crimes are the same degree of bad.
Dear Ms. Blouise,
I beg to differ. My zero-gravity waste disposal system is how we all got here.
What did you think generated the Big Bang?
You’re welcome.
Dear Mr. Kauten,
Your International Space Station Zero-Gravity Waste Disposal System doesn’t count but thank you anyway.
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120112103610/bigbangtheory/images/4/41/TheBigBangTheoryS2E22-087.jpg
Excellent article (a couple typos you might want to fix – “The Justice Dept has prosecuted *before*…”, and “Why should *we* believe them?”)
Another point is that every one of these supposed “thwarted attacks” that gets investigated thoroughly reveals undercover mole agents who contacted “radicals”, including ecological activists, pretended to have the same beliefs and pushed them to plan violent attacks, which they then “thwarted”.
And for those who think it’s all OK, imagine 5 years from now, and things have gotten really bad, the dollar collapses just like the stock market and housing bubbles did, the 1% are twice as rich and the 99% twice as poor, expanded drone bombings and domestic use, and you’re thinking about joining a protest movement, how do you feel about the government knowing your every thought then?
Also when you combine NDAA detention without trial or evidence of anyone the government labels a terrorist, with the ever expanding list of things defined as terrorism, and activist groups being spied on, this all gets very scary. (“Pentagon bracing for public dissent over climate and energy shocks” in the Guardian).
I will swim against the roaring, swirling whitewaters of distrust in our government (block that metaphor!), by declaring my belief in the seemingly dubious assertions of Obama, the NSA, and Congress. I have good reasons for my faith.
I personally have averted destruction of the United States of America twice, destruction of Earth 3 times, and destruction of the solar system 7 times. I know that seems not to add up, but trust me.
I am not allowed to reveal details of those operations.
You guys owe me, big time.
You’re welcome.
“I personally have averted destruction of the United States of America twice, destruction of Earth 3 times, and destruction of the solar system 7 times. I know that seems not to add up, but trust me.
I am not allowed to reveal details of those operations.”
Bob K,
Then why did you swear me to secrecy on your super hero status? I couldn’t even tell my wife how much we all owe you.
What Raff and Gene said plus:
“Why should we believe him?”
I don’t believe him, but it is hard to say if he is being supplied with the new information. Being lied to, or lying. It doesn’t matter because as Harry Truman said “The buck stops here.”
“Before we get into the latest round of claims to justify these programs, it is worth noting again that the success of any program does not excuse its unconstitutionality.”
So important it bears repeating.
And what raff said.
Repeal the Patriot Act now!
And you all can play a part in that by not voting for anyone who has supported it and by voting for someone willing to vote to repeal it.
The federal politicians will just spin it despite every solid argument our professor has mentioned and they will win because the public is not sufficienty interested because most of the news media is protecting them. I believe firmly this scandal shows sufficient proable cause for the House to draft an article of impeachment but the problem for the American pulic is that there will be too many highly connected people in the Senate and to a lesser degree the House who will fear their own personal self interest could be jeopardized by their own guilt in the matter so it will never be raised in the House much less be enough for a conviction in the Senate.
But as long as people have their Wonder Bread and Hollywood/Washington Circuses, the worship of our Dear Leader will continue.
Reblogged this on euzicasa.
Gorge Costanza: Remember, Jerry, it’s not a lie, if you believe it.
You start out with president Bush and WMDs, It wasn’t just G.W. it was most of the federal government Republicans and Democrats from Hillary Clinton on down.
Don’t mean to offend the Obama supporters reading this column, but Pres. Obama is a remarkably facile liar (so are most of his administration, just not as competent).
The American public (the thinking portion) now discounts much of what is said in Washington (shades of the German public listening to Goebbels).
There is a cost to the country when much of the public decides that their leaders are liars; unfortunately both the Bush and Obama administrations have earned our distrust.
We should not believe any Executive department that claims that the alleged ends justify the means. Even if these wild claims of successes were true, that does not make the actions of violating millions of people’s privacy any less vile and disturbing. Time to end the Patriot Act, as amended, and bring the FISA court into the sunlight.
What is a lie…… When is a lie not a lie…. When the president does it…. Is it still not a crime….