by
Jim Kouri, CPP
Civil liberties groups the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center
for Constitutional Rights filed lawsuits against President George W. Bush
and the heads of US security agencies the day after the nation honored Dr.
Martin Luther King's legacy. The lawsuits challenge the legality of the
NSA eavesdropping program and demand its immediate suspension.
The suits were filed in New York by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR),
and in Detroit by the ACLU, as well as other advocacy groups. The groups
are suing on behalf of a number of plaintiffs who say they believe the
Bush Administration illegally monitored their communications.
Plaintiff's include left-wing journalist Christopher Hitchens and civil
liberties attorney Rachel Meeropol, granddaughter of executed Soviet spies
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
Calling it an "illegal and unconstitutional program" of electronic
eavesdropping on American citizens, both actions sought an injunction that
would prohibit the government from conducting surveillance of
communications in the United States without judicial warrants.
The CCR suit, challenging the NSA's surveillance of persons within the
United States without judicial approval or statutory authorization, named
Bush and Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security
Agency (NSA), which ran the program.
Civil liberties attorney Bill Goodman noted that the legal action was
being taken a day after the national holiday celebrating black civil
rights leader Martin Luther King, who was the focus of FBI wiretaps for
years, but he failed to mention for the history-challenged reporters that
it was President John F. Kennedy and his Attorney General brother Robert
who ordered the wiretaps on Dr. King.
"We are saddened that the illegal electronic surveillance that once
targeted that great American has again become characteristic of our
present government," Goodman said.
Democrat Al Gore, Bush's opponent in the 2000 presidential election,
accused him Monday of acting illegally.
"What we do know about that pervasive wiretapping virtually compels the
conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the
law repeatedly and consistently," Gore said to his MoveOn.Org audience.
But there are a number of legal scholars and intelligence experts who
believe the lawsuits are nothing more than publicity stunts. Some go as
far as saying the ACLU crowd is trying to undermine the US war on
terrorism with frivolous legal actions that lack merit.
For instance, former New Jersey Judge and constitutional scholar Andy
Napolitano says that the lawsuits will probably be thrown out by whichever
judges are assigned to the cases. He says that the cases have no standing
since the plaintiffs are saying "they believe" or "they think," and
possess no proof of injury to themselves as a result of the NSA program.
A former Marine intelligence officer, NYPD detective and owner of an
international security and investigations agency says that the attorneys
should know that their lawsuits will go nowhere and wonders why the
members of the news media do not tell Americans the truth.
"All these people need to do is read the FISA Act. It's not mandatory for
the President to seek their permission during a war," he says
With regard to Al Gore's spirited -- some say shrill -- diatribe before a
group of radical leftists, under the Clinton-Gore Administration, the
National Security Agency enjoyed almost total autonomy in their operation
known as Echelon. And it was widely know that the NSA was spying on
Americans who had no ties to Al-Qaeda. In fact, in 2000, 60 Minutes ran a
story about Echelon. This was warrantless large-scale surveillance, with
some saying it was a high-tech fishing expedition.
Not surprising is the fact that the ACLU and CCR didn't say one word about
the Echelon operation. No full page advertisements in the New York Times,
no law suits, no diatribes about police states. So it appears these
guardians of Americans' civil rights have a double-standard.
Mark Levin, legal scholar with the Landmark Legal Foundation and author of
the book Men In Black, says that this whole frenzy is nothing more than
left-wing groups attempting to undermine the war effort. He says that the
ACLU in particular is against any action taken to fight terrorism. They
are even hunting for the courts they believe have the most liberal judges
who may entertain their nonsense.
From criminal profiling to interrogation methods, the ACLU and their ilk
are against it all. They behave as if they are part of the elected
government of the United States.
One of the plaintiffs in the case is the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations or CAIR which presents itself as just another
civil-rights group.
According to Islamic terrorism expert Dr. Daniel Pipes, CAIR consistently
defends other militant Islamic terrorists too. The conviction of the
perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing it deemed "a travesty
of justice."
The conviction of Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind sheikh who planned to blow
up New York City landmarks, it called a "hate crime." The extradition
order for suspected Hamas terrorist Mousa Abu Marook it labeled
"anti-Islamic" and "anti-American." Not surprisingly, CAIR also backs
those who finance terrorism.
When President Bush closed the Holy Land Foundation in December for
collecting money he said was "used to support the Hamas terror
organization," CAIR decried the action as "unjust" and "disturbing." CAIR
even includes at least one person associated with terrorism in its own
ranks. On Feb. 2, 1995, US Attorney Mary Jo White named Siraj Wahhaj as
one of the "unindicted persons who may be alleged as co-conspirators" in
the attempt to blow up New York City monuments. Yet CAIR deems him "one of
the most respected Muslim leaders in America" and includes him on its
advisory board.
These are the people the ACLU represents.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National
Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media
Alliance (thenma.org). He's former chief at a New York City housing
project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering
the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public
safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several
major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and
trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri
writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police,
Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer for
TheConservativeVoice.Com. He's also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com,
MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com.
He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and
talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox
News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com.
Kouri's own website is located at
http://jimkouri.us
The opinions expressed in
this column represent those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions, views, or philosophy of TheRealityCheck.org
