Quote:
On December 31st, the "wall" that forbids the CIA from sharing information with the FBI (which could have prevented 9/11) goes back into effect.
There isn't much debate about most of the PATRIOT act, and certainly no appreciable debate over the issue of whether FBI and CIA should have a "wall" between them. We now have a national intelligence director (Negroponte) whose sole job is to make sure all of our intelligence agencies share information. Even if the PATRIOT act is not renewed, Negroponte doesn't go away, and the FBI and CIA don't suddenly stop sharing information.
Even still, there's no legitimate threat of the PATRIOT act not being renewed in some form or another. The only debate is over the three more controversial provisions, some of which can definitely be used improperly. And, when you've got a President who authorized warrantless spying of any American who talks to anyone overseas, you have to make sure there's no wiggle room, because they will definitely wiggle, under the guise of "protecting Americans."
Look, I definitely want my Government spying on the "bad guys." With proper oversight, I even want them spying on Americans who interact with potential "bad guys." But it's not even like the President took this oversight (FISA) away, he just plain went around it. All that was needed was Alberto Gonzales spending ten minutes in front of a rubber stamp court to obtain a warrant, but that was too much oversight. That's where legitimate protection of Americans ends and the erosion of civil liberties begins.
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