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The FBI can easily tap phone conversations under the new law
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WASHINGTON,
November 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A federal appeals court
on Monday, November 18, gave the U.S. Justice Department broad authority
to use wiretaps and other surveillance methods in the hunt for
terrorists, outraging civil libertarians who said it violated the
constitution.
The
court ruling, which reversed a May decision by a lower court, allowed
for the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to be amended
by the Patriot Act passed by Congress following the September 11, 2001
deadly attacks which killed 3,000 Americans, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
reported.
The
Patriot Act expands Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s authority to
intercept wire, oral and electronic communications as well as share
criminal investigative information.
The
FBI can now obtain permits for such activities from the typically more
lenient and secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court instead of
a regular criminal court.
The
decision also allows the bureau to apply for such surveillance on cases
not strictly terrorism-related.
U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the decision saying: "The
measures will facilitate cooperation and coordination between law
enforcement and intelligence officials in the war on terror."
The
move comes as the FBI warned that Al-Qaeda, the group accused of
responsibility for the September 11 attacks, was planning a
"spectacular" new attack against the United States.
It
also comes on the eve of the expected passage of the Homeland Security
Bill which will group most U.S. intelligence and national law
enforcement agencies under one mammoth umbrella organization.
Civil
Libertarian organizations across the country condemned Monday's ruling.
"We
are deeply disappointed with the decision, which suggests that this
special court exists only to rubberstamp government applications for
intrusive surveillance warrants," said Ann Beeson, litigation
director of the Technology and Liberty Program of the American Civil
Liberties Union.
"As
of today," she added, "the Attorney General can suspend the
ordinary requirements of the Fourth Amendment in order to listen in on
phone calls, read e-mails, and conduct secret searches of Americans'
homes and offices."
The
Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the individual's
right to privacy.
The
ACLU, and other civil libertarian organizations, also noted that the
move comes on the heels of a Pentagon announcement that it is developing
revolutionary information systems that will sweep up data on billions of
electronic transactions to detect terrorist movements.
It
was not immediately clear if the Pentagon's project, known as
"Total Information Awareness," would share information with
the FBI and vice-versa.
Ashcroft's
original requests for dozens of electronic surveillance permits had been
denied by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in May on the
grounds that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had repeatedly misled
the tribunal.
But
the appeals court reversed that decision Monday.
"FISA's
general programmatic purpose, to protect the nation against terrorists
and espionage directed by foreign powers, has from its outset been
distinguishable from ‘ordinary crime control’," said the panel
of three judges in the 56-page decision.
The
panel of three judges found "that the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act as amended is constitutional because the surveillances
it authorizes are reasonable."
The
surveillance measures expanded under the Patriot Act will expire within
four years, or by 2006, when Congress would re-examine the effectiveness
of the measures.
Ashcroft
announced he was immediately doubling the number of FBI attorneys
working on FISA permits, as well as expanding the number of agents in
the field and agents to be trained in surveillance.
He
also said a special computer was being set up to expedite FISA permit
requests from the field.
The
ACLU and other agencies also have not yet indicated if they plan to
appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meanwhile,
an army of trained federal workers took over security screening at all
major commercial airports across the United States Monday, a day ahead
of the deadline set by President George W. Bush following the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks, authorities said.
"Today
every checkpoint at every airport is staffed by the best-trained, most
consistently professional screening force in aviation history,"
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said, stressing that the move
came ahead of Tuesday's one-year deadline set by Bush when he signed the
Aviation and Transportation Security Act November 19, 2001.
The
Aviation and Transportation Security Act federalized airport security
after the September 11 attacks.
"More
than 44,000 dedicated men and women have been hired, trained and
deployed to screen passengers and assure the safety of our skies,"
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said.
Passengers
will now be screened by the better paid federal employees replacing the
private screeners typically subcontracted by airports across the
country.
The
new force, chosen out of a pool of 1.4 million applicants, have all
"received more than 100 hours of classroom and on-the-job training
for this important responsibility," said Ridge.
The
tight deadline meant that an average of 3,300 screeners were trained per
week since July, Mineta said.
Some
7,000 sky marshals have been trained and patrol – plain clothed and
armed – U.S. commercial flights.
