Posted on 12/07/2001 2:15:09 AM PST by JohnHuang2
(CBS) Attorney General John Ashcroft launched a spirited defense of his controversial anti-terror actions Thursday, saying the Justice Department needs every policy it is using to meet that threat.
Holding aloft an al-Qaida terrorism manual, the attorney general told the Senate Judiciary Committee: "We are at war with an enemy that abuses individual rights as it abuses jetliners.… Defending our nation and its citizens against terrorist attacks is now our first law enforcement priority."
Ashcroft's appearance came in an atmosphere of mounting criticism by Senate Democrats that the Justice Department moved too far, too quickly, to implement a host of stern investigative measures in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But he defended the plans, saying daily threats show an enemy bent on destroying America, reports CBS News Senior Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer.
"They are a chilling daily chronicle of the hatred of Americans by fanatics who seek to extinguish freedom, enslave women, corrupt education and kill Americans wherever and whenever they can," said Ashcroft.
As evidence, Ashcroft displayed a captured terrorist manual which shows how deadly and detailed terrorist training has become -- a book offering on everything from concealing identity to a graphic passage that outlines guidelines for beating and killing hostages.
Ashcroft chided critics of the various measures, including the government's detention and questioning of hundreds of Middle Eastern men.
"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics only aid terrorists," He said. "They erode out national unity and diminish our resolve."
He said critics are uninformed. "Charges of kangaroo courts and shredding the Constitution give new meaning to the term 'the fog of war,'" he said.
"Each action taken by the Department of Justice as well as the war crimes commission ... is carefully drawn to cover a narrow class of individuals — terrorists," Ashcroft declared.
On the 87th day since the attack, Ashcroft told lawmakers he received chilling daily intelligence reports.
"My day begins with a review of the threats to Americans and American interests," Ashcroft said. "If ever there were proof of evil in the world it is in these reports."
The committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the government needs a good reason to snoop into bank records, tax returns and e-mails.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, countered: "Let's keep our focus on where it matters — protecting U.S. citizens."
Ashcroft was expected to be questioned also about why the Justice Department denied the FBI access to records to determine whether any of the detainees had bought guns.
The denial was made in October because Justice Department officials decided it would be an improper use of records, Justice spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said Wednesday.
In addition to the civil rights concerns, some senators are unhappy that the White House and Justice Department acted without telling most members of Congress in advance.
Democrats are especially upset about some of the administration's plans because no one from the administration mentioned them during weeks of negotiations between Ashcroft and Congress to expand police powers in response to Sept. 11.
The Democrats see their questioning of Ashcroft as protecting the integrity of the constitutional separation of powers.
"This administration has preferred to go it alone, with no authorization or prior consultation with the legislative branch," Leahy said. "This is no mere technicality. It fundamentally jeopardizes the separation of powers that undergirds our constitutional system."
Ashcroft's relationship with the committee has been rocky all year. In his first appearance in front of the committee as attorney general, Ashcroft only stayed about 90 minutes, which kept some of the committee members from asking questions. Democratic senators have not forgotten.
©MMI CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Reuters Limited contributed to this report.
At the end of the day, Leahy's much ballyhooed 'hearings' became the proverbial dog that didn't bite.The proceedings, ostensibly to plumb the administration's "controversial" decision to use military tribunals to try Osama Bin Laden and other foreign terrorists for war crimes, were billed in advance by the press as the moment America had been waiting for -- the greatest show on earth! U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft would be shamed and humiliated -- reduced to smoldering ash over Leahy's flaming grill, the *ash* in *Ashcroft* acquiring new meaning.
Last week's hearings with Michael Chertoff, Ashcroft's point man at DOJ's criminal division, were sold as dress rehearsal, a taste of what awaited his boss the following week. Chertoff was treated rudely, spitefully by tactless Committee Democrats. 'Ashcroft is toast now, and we're rearin' to go', Democrats would gleefully tell their media chums afterwards.
The Bush haters had everything vested in these Kangaroo hearings. They hoped the scintillating spectacle would light a fire under this issue, setting off a storm of popular resistance.
The opposite proved to be the case.
For Ashcroft, the hearings yesterday were certainly no Waterloo. Following Leahy's rambling/disjointed opening, the proceedings became a boring, humdrum display of mediocrity -- on a grand scale. Rather than blazing fireworks, the only detectable heat on that committee billowed from flaming liberals, who spend sleepless nights distressed over 'poor' Osama Bin Laden's "constitutional" "rights" and "liberties".
To hear the paranoid rantings of Leahy and his ilk, America becomes a totalitarian police state UNLESS Osama Bin Laden is read his Miranda rights, is formally served an arrest warrant and is accorded nothing less than all of the "rights" and "protections" reserved for every American.
Hold on, not so fast: Last time I checked, Osama Bin Laden wasn't an American...
Gee, apparently, the clique of demented black Helicopter schizoids on Leahy's side of that committee have yet to notice there's a war going on.
Oh, and the putrid hypocrisy of it all. The same charlatans piously feigning "concern" over "privacy rights" and the 'rule of law' -- without the vaguest hint of irony -- demanded to know why DOJ denied an FBI request for records of background checks on private citizens who purchase firearms!
Ashcroft calmly and gently reminded the gun grabbers that, er, that's the law of the land. The New York Times conveniently omitted this niggling detail from its Thursday 'blockbuster', from which Committee Democrats were obviously drawing their asinine line of questioning.
End of story.
On the public relations front, in an effort to limit negative fallout for Democrats, the media till now has been careful to frame this issue under the phony cloak of 'bipartisanship', as if opposition to military tribunals and other anti-terrorist measures derived equally from both sides of the aisle.
That charade is now over.
Last time I checked, leaky Leahy was not a Republican. Nor was that guzzling boozer, Teddy Kennedy. Nor was greedy-shyster-lawyer-turned-pol John Edwards of North Carolina. Near as I could tell, all the sniveling and snuffling and bleating emanated from the Democrat side.
But, through it all, America's top cop handled his detractors with aplomb. His steadfast composure, his grace under fire, his patient demeanor frustrated his former Democrat colleagues who tried desperately to trip him up. Everything the loonies threw at him, he would toss right back in their faces.
Man, am I glad adults are back in charge!
My two cents..
"JohnHuang2"
Leahy & Co. fired off a lot of ordinance and the target was unmarked at the end of the day. I listened to this hearing on C-Span. Leahy, Kennedy etc. all were shooting every which way. Kennedy tried to find a way to ban the sale of guns because terrorists were able to get ahold of some [according to him] at gun shows.
This is how far the DemocRATS have fallen.
Regards,
BTW I didn't get a chance to see the hearings--did the 'Rats try to exploit the Indiana shooting incident? (It was probably not in their script but you never know with these guys.)
From article above "As evidence, Ashcroft displayed a captured terrorist manual "
Ted Koppel on Nightline last night: Ashcroft, brandishing a book...
His other asset when faced with that Dem pack of ravenous wolves is the stint he served in their little club...he knows them all, and can see their petty little tactics coming a mile off.
I thank God that we now have a gentleman like J.A. in charge at Justice. The contrast with the Clinton/Reno criminal enterprise couldn't be any greater.
One last point. I'm happy that many across the political spectrum are keeping their eyes peeled for incursions on our God-given liberties...some are even doing so for the right reasons. Of course that doesn't change the fact most of the RATS say one thing, even when their policy goals totally contradict their words.
Good stuff, John, as usual. Keep it comin'!!
;-)
Well said, and I wish more around here would get it through their thick skulls.
Lastly, it makes me sick to hear these senators claim they are being kept "out of the loop" in major intelligence matters. Seems to me they have a recent history of leaking and can't be trusted with many things. Oh, now I'm going to hear the screams and cries of how wrong it is for the executive branch to keep the legislators in the dark. If it saves their lives and the lives of their constituents, they are better off whining in the dark than dying while whispering information to the press.
As a Tarheel, I love that description of the ambulance chaser.
Everything else you said was right on the money, too .... and more than just 2 cents!
Are the Democrats as brain-dead as they seem? Can they be that stupid?
I cannot thank you enough for your 2 cents. You say it just how I think. Thank you sooooooo much John for being YOU !!!
Amen my friend!
These Dems are reverting to their gutter tactics once again, but most American's aren't falling for such nonsense any longer. It's amazing how shallow some liberals remain during this time of war on international terrorism. How willing they are to do and say practically anything, in order to appease their special interest supporters. In that regard, little has changed.
On the extremes, there was Dem strategist Bob "Fatso" Beckel denouncing AG Ashcroft, while co-hosting Crossfire the other night. On the other extreme, there was Senator Joe Lieberman calling for Saddam's Husseins's head on a platter and offering strong support for President Bush during this time of national crisis and conflict.
The Beckel's of the world will never learn. Holy Joe's on the right side of this issue, for a change!
Bears repeating!
And your comments in #14 are right on the $$$, as usual ;^)
Exactly, like the Chairman of that committee himself: Leaky Leahy.
Not really - the Dim-0-crats run the Senate a la Jeffords; and the margin in the House is very slim.
But think back to vacant-LOTT, booby-HATCH, rolled-THOMPSON, ... was that any better???
Nothing warms my heart more than to see Leaky Leahy, Senator Depends, get his comeuppance!
Nothing warms my heart more than to see Leaky Leahy, Senator Depends, get his comeuppance!
My sentiments exactly.
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