Domestic Terror Campaign

Glenn Greenwald writes that the investigation into who leaked the NSA domestic spying program to the NYTimes is an attempt to squelch internal dissent of Bush et al's overall "war" time policies. Some will accuse Greenwald of exaggeration or a form of fear-mongering.

I tend to go with Greenwald in his assessment. I believe that it is part of a larger pattern of intimidation of Bush critics that goes back to the bullying tactics used to silence the intelligence community in the gear-up to the Iraq "war." This inquisition's first effect was the outing of Valeries Plame. The tactics described by Greenwald are the next phase in that domestic terror campaign. ...

Greenwald writes:

For that reason, this flamboyant use of the forces of criminal prosecution to threaten whistle-blowers and intimidate journalists are nothing more than the naked tactics of street thugs and authoritarian juntas. There is much speculation over whether other eavesdropping programs exist, including domestic eavesdropping programs, as well as whether other lawless programs have been authorized based on the Administration's theories that it has the right to wield war powers against American citizens on American soil.

Our hope for finding out about the existence of other illegality depends upon the willingness of whistle blowers to come forward and journalists to investigate and report such misconduct. That is precisely why the Administration is so aggressively seeking to attack and silence those two groups, and it is why the significance and danger of those attempts really can't be overstated.

Related Links

• Republican Push-Back on Bush Wiretap Stance
  
• The Shoe (Bomb) on the Other Foot
  
• A Power Outage on Capitol Hill
  
• Questions of Credibility
  
• Ex-CIA Official Faults Use of Data on Iraq
  
• Oops! - Bush Unaware Mikes Were Still On
  
• RNC Chief Defends Domestic Wiretaps