Bush: Open hearings good for US democracy

US president George Bush said congressional hearings to investigate his domestic eavesdropping programme would be good for democracy as long as they did not give secrets away to the enemy.

Mr Bush was initially opposed to having the programme investigated in a public format, but has now made it clear that he is resigned to open hearings due to begin in coming weeks.

Mr Bush’s decision to authorise the National Security Agency to monitor - without warrants – people inside the United States has sparked a flurry of questions about the programme’s legal justification.

The president defended the programme during a campaign-style town hall meeting, saying he understood concerns about it but monitoring the phone calls of affiliates of the terrorist network al Qaida was necessary to protect the US. He said he made sure he had the legal authority to allow the programme before he did so.

“There will be a lot of hearings to talk about that, but that’s good for democracy,” he said.

“Just so long as the hearings, as they explore whether or not I had the prerogative to make the decision I make, doesn’t tell the enemy what we’re doing. See, that’s the danger.”

In the days after the programme’s existence was revealed, Mr Bush cautioned against hearings, arguing that the appropriate members of Congress were being consulted privately and offering assurances that he was working within the law to authorise the eavesdropping.

“Any public hearings on programmes will say to the enemy, ‘Here’s what they do – adjust’. This is a war,” Bush said at a December news conference when asked about expected hearings on Capitol Hill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled hearings on the issue for early February. The Senate Intelligence Committee also plans to hold hearings that will be closed to the public.

For the second time in a month, the president took questions from audience members during an appearance to win support for his war on terror.

In his opening remarks, he defended the global war on terrorism and the US effort in Iraq. He said militants in Iraq were trying to drive the US out through violence and bloodshed but he declared, “They’re not going to shake my will.”

While saying he wanted to bring American troops home, he said: “I don’t want them to come home without achieving the victory.”

In a question and answer session, Mr Bush was asked about Iraq, education priorities, immigration, the economy, health care and other subjects. He said the war on terrorism would not end with an enemy surrender, as was the case in the Second World War.

“I don’t envision a signing ceremony on the USS Missouri,” Mr Bush said. “The peace won’t be the kind of peace we’re used to.”

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said questions from the audience were not pre-screened, and Mr Bush himself said that while the event was about terrorism, no questions were off limits.