George W. Bush on Wednesday stepped up pressure on Congress to extend a law allowing eavesdropping on conversations between US citizens and foreign terrorist suspects without court approval.
The president said the powers were crucial in preventing terrorists from infiltrating the US and warned that the country would be “much more vulnerable to attack” if the law were allowed to expire in February.
His comments came as the Democratic-controlled Congress prepared for a fresh legislative battle with the White House over how much freedom intelligence agencies should have to eavesdrop on US citizens.
The issue poses a political dilemma for Democrats, who must balance their desire to challenge the Bush administration’s expansion of executive power against the risk of appearing weak on national security.
Domestic surveillance is politically sensitive because it involves a clash between two of the strongest impulses in US politics: the strengthening of national security versus the protection of civil liberties.
The National Security Agency started eavesdropping on conversations between US citizens and foreign terrorist suspects without a court warrant after the September 2001 attacks. The practice was halted last January, amid fierce criticism from Democrats that the programme was unconstitutional.
Congress passed emergency legislation in August expanding the NSA’s wiretapping authority, after the Bush administration warned its ability to track terrorists was slipping. But Democrats gave the law an expiry date of February 1 to force more debate on the issue before agreeing to long-term reforms.
The August law allowed the NSA to eavesdrop on conversations involving US citizens provided the target of the surveillance was foreign but required the agency to obtain a warrant before targetting US citizens.
Speaking after a visit to the NSA’s headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, Mr Bush called for the changes to be made permanent. If Congress failed to act, “our national security professionals will lose critical tools they need to protect our country”, he said.
Harry Reid, Senate majority leader, said Democrats would pass legislation that strengthened US intelligence capabilities while also respecting the privacy of law-abiding Americans.
”Neither the White House nor congressional Republicans should use this process to create a political wedge issue,” he said. ”We must work in a bipartisan fashion to pass a good bill that will protect Americans and American values.”
Mike McConnell, director of US national intelligence, told a hearing of the House judiciary committee on Tuesday that fewer than 100 Americans have become surveillance targets after being overheard communicating with foreign terrorist suspects.
Lamar Smith, senior Republican member of the House judiciary committee, said 60 per cent of Americans supported surveillance of conversations between foreign terrorist suspects and US citizens.
