Bush: I'm not a dictator
The disclosure of a top-secret US domestic spying programme has ignited a furious debate about presidential authority, civil liberties and whether President George Bush is acting above the law.
“Do I have the legal authority to do this? And the answer is, absolutely,” Bush insisted yesterday. But plenty of people, who contend the spying operation ignores both US law and the constitution, are disagreeing with his conclusion.
At a news conference, Bush appeared most angry that the programme had been revealed in the press. He said it was an effective tool in disrupting terrorists and that whoever leaked details to the media had committed “a shameful act”.
On another issue, Bush acknowledged that the pre-war claim that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction complicated the US ability to confront other potential emerging threats such as Iran.
“Where it is going to be most difficult to make the case is in the public arena,” Bush said. “People will say, if we’re trying to make the case on Iran: ‘Well, if the intelligence failed in Iraq, therefore, how can we trust the intelligence on Iran?'”
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the domestic-spying operation was “probably the most classified programme that exists in the US government”. It involves electronic intercepts of telephone calls and emails in the US of people with known ties to al-Qaida and other terror groups.
The spying uproar was the latest controversy about Bush’s handling of the war on terror, after questions about secret prisons in eastern Europe, secrecy-cloaked government directives, torture allegations and a death toll of more than 2,150 Americans in Iraq.
As a result, Bush’s approval rating has slumped as has Americans’ confidence in his leadership.
During the news conference, Bush bristled at the suggestion he was assuming unlimited powers.
“To say ‘unchecked power’ basically is ascribing some kind of dictatorial position to the president, which I strongly reject,” he said angrily in a finger-pointing answer. “I am doing what you expect me to do, and at the same time, safeguarding the civil liberties of the country.”
Despite Bush’s defence, a storm of criticism was growing in congress, and Democrats and Bush’s own Republicans were demanding investigations.
West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, released a hand-written letter that expressed misgivings to Vice President Dick Cheney after being briefed more than two years ago.
The letter complained that the information was so restricted he was “unable to fully evaluate, much less endorse these activities”. He faulted the administration’s direction on security, technology and surveillance.
Arlen Specter, Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would ask Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito, his views of the president’s authority for spying without a warrant.
“Where does he find in the constitution the authority to tap the wires and the phones of American citizens without any court oversight?” asked Senator Carl Levin. Another Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein, said Bush’s interpretation of the constitution was “incorrect and dangerous”.
Appealing for support, Bush used the word “understand” 25 times in a nearly hour-long news conference.
“I hope the American people understand, there is still an enemy that would like to strike the US of America, and they’re very dangerous,” he said. Similarly, he said he hoped that blacks who doubt his intentions “understand that I care about them”.
Bush challenged Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton – without naming them – to allow a final vote on legislation to renew the anti-terror Patriot Act, saying it was inexcusable to let it expire.
”I want senators from New York or Los Angeles or Las Vegas to go home and explain why these cities are safer” without the extension, he said.
Clinton represents New York, Reid Nevada, where Las Vegas is. Both helped block passage of the legislation in the Senate last week.
Bush noted that US agencies have been faulted for intelligence failures before the September 11, 2001, attacks and said the Patriot Act and the spying programme help take care of that problem.
Reid fired back: “The president and the Republican leadership should stop playing politics with the Patriot Act.” His statement added he and other Democrats want a three-month extension of the expiring law to allow time for a long-term compromise.
The legislation has cleared the House of Representatives, but Senate Democrats have blocked final passage. Its prospects are uncertain in the congressional session’s final days.
