Legally Illegal Wire-Tapping

Wednesday, 22 April 2009 12:07

Last Wednesday The New York Times released a story about how the National Security Agency (NSA) has intercepted millions of private emails and phone calls from innocent, law-abiding American citizens over the past several months. Although the NSA officials claimed, “when inadvertent mistakes are made, we take it very seriously and work immediately to correct them," one cannot help but wonder whether or not if there was some systematic infiltration rather than an unintentional blunder. Congress is on the case, examining the extent of the damage. Nonetheless, President Barack Obama has released his own statement concerning eavesdropping on Americans:

While I believe strongly in transparency and accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, the United States must sometimes carry out intelligence operations and protect information that is classified for purposes of national security. I have already fought for that principle in court and will do so again in the future.

This said principle is none other than the same order our previous executive issued violating the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

The New York Times lightens up the gravity of the issue by claiming that the main problem seems to lie in the NSA's technical difficulty in distinguishing overseas communications from domestic transmissions. Readers, on the other hand, debate and disagree in over 200 comments received on the Times’ website. One man in Sydney, Australia sarcastically stated, "To the operative in charge I am sorry to be so boring but if you need any information about me please just email [my email address here] and I would be happy to bore you to tears with the details over coffee." Another user quotes Benjamin Franklin's wisdom: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Perhaps the most dangerous statement issued so far comes from the authors of the Times report: "There was an 'overcollection' of domestic e-mails and calls of Americans by the N.S.A., officials said. Comments are no longer being accepted."

Writing for fun and for profit since childhood, Belinda Z. is a homeschooled high school student who is a strong advocate for constitutionally-limited government and hopes to make a difference in politics someday.

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