Unwarranted Complaints - NYT CYA

NYT ^ | 12-28-05 | DAVID B. RIVKIN and LEE A. CASEY

[keithtoo]

SHORTLY after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush ordered surveillance of international telephone communications by suspected members of Al Qaeda overseas, even if such calls also involved individuals within the United States. This program was adopted by direct presidential order and was subject to review every 45 days. Judicial warrants for this surveillance were neither sought nor obtained, although key members of Congress were evidently informed. The program's existence has now become public, and howls of outrage have ensued. But in fact, the only thing outrageous about this policy is the outrage itself.

[keithtoo]

The Dem/Lefty cabal begins to crack. They know this sufject is better dropped than pursued.

[Personal Responsibility]

ping for later

[new yorker 77]

Any thime you have to start out an editorial with the phrase 'shortly after 9-11' to cover your butt, you know you have lost.

[jwpjr]

You would like to think that a nice, concise explanation of the program and the President's authority to order it would put an end to the constant carping from the Left. But no, they depend on a lot of Americans being so ignorant of current affairs, not to mention the mechanics of running our government, to believe the lies and half-truths they spout and that are parroted by the MSM.

Is it my imagination, or am I starting to see the public beginning to catch on to the tactics of the Left and the MSM? Seems to me this whole thing was really pretty much overlooked, or appreciated, by a lot of citizens.

[GoforBroke]

Check!
Check!....
Check!....
Check!....
Check!....
Check!....
Check!....
Touchdown

[Steel Wolf]

The program's existence has now become public, and howls of outrage have ensued. But in fact, the only thing outrageous about this policy is the outrage itself.

TRANSLATION: You idiots were supposed to get outraged and demand Bush's head, not take his side. Who the hell do you think you are? We tell you what to think, and when to think it.

[kcvl]

Op-Ed Contributor
Unwarranted Complaints
By DAVID B. RIVKIN and LEE A. CASEY


snip



David B. Rivkin and Lee A. Casey are lawyers who served in the Justice Department in the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations.

[Enchante]

This is not an official NY Times editorial by their editorial staff, it is a submitted (or invited, but that's most unlikely) op-ed by outside writers DAVID B. RIVKIN and LEE A. CASEY. It's still a good thing that it was published in the NY Slimes, but the publication of this item in no way reflects any editorial stance of the NY Slimes, it is an outside op-ed piece that they happened to publish.

[Graymatter]

Isn't there anything fair and legal that we can do to stop these treasonous vermin? I have written letters to their advertisers. I can't cancel a subscription I haven't had since 1966. Anybody got some fresh ideas?

[Wasanother]

Screw the Slimes. I've contacted the AG's office and have requested that they throw the Slimes Writers in jail for obstruction of justice if they refuse to disclose who the traitor is.

[68skylark]

I wish you had included the names of the authors in the header information when you posted this.

Without that information, I thought this was a NY Times editorial, instead of an op-ed piece.

[68skylark]

This article makes good points. But all these points were available a week ago over at PowerLine and other blogs.

It just shows how the dead-tree media is way behind the power curve.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I don't think this is a CYA at all. These are two guys who know the law that think the NYT and the Dems are wrong for being upset:

Overall, this surveillance program is fully within the president's legal authority, is limited in scope (involving communications to or from overseas related to the war against Al Qaeda), and is subject to stringent presidential review. The contretemps its revelation has caused reveals much more about the chattering classes' fundamental antipathy to strong government in general, and strong executive power in particular, than it does about presidential overreaching.

The Constitution's framers did not vest absolute power in any branch of the federal government, including the courts, but they did create a strong executive and equipped the office with sufficient authority to act energetically to defend the national interest in wartime. That is what President Bush has done, and nothing more.

David B. Rivkin and Lee A. Casey are lawyers who served in the Justice Department in the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations.

[MNJohnnie]

Guess they saw the poll where 70% of Americans, including 51% of Democrats, said Bush was RIGHT to do this. Hey NYT doesn't get you off the hook. Who broke the law to tell you about this? Give it up. We know it is Sen Jay Rockefeller. How else did you KNOW in your ORIGINAL Story that Rocktraitor was voicing objections to the program when he COULD NOT TELL ANYONE about his objects according to his press statements two weeks ago? Who is the Leaker NY DNC Times???? Time for Rockie to be jailed.

[MNJohnnie]

Keep those letters to the Advertisers flowing. Get other to write them. IF you want to hurt these slime, hit them in the pocket book. 1st Amendment makes it really tough to do anything LEGALLY to punish them. We can cause them to go bankrupt. If our troops can serve 24/7-365 the LEAST we can do is cover their back from domestic foes.

[Lancey Howard]

The authors do a good job in laying out the breadth and Constitutionality of the President's authority to wiretap suspected enemies of our nation, but none of it means squat to the Democrat scumbags at the New York Times. I'm sure they gnashed their teeth at the thought of publishing this article, but now they can claim that they have "presented both sides". ("Whew!", they are thinking, "Got THAT over with.")

And now it's off to the races with the usual onslaught of lying smear after lying smear after lying smear, day after day after day. They can do that now in good conscience, you see - - after all, they have "presented both sides".


(David B. Rivkin and Lee A. Casey are lawyers who served in the Justice Department in the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations.)

[Democratshavenobrains]

America cares less about this "scandal" then they did about Iran-Contra. Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson must be crying without all the attention they are used to.

[MNJohnnie]

Think it is time we ram the Plame precedent down their throats. Going to be all so gung ho to prosecute leaker's this time NY Time and rest of the failed media???

[Pharmboy]

The NY Times wrote themselves into irrelevancy years ago. The only reason to read this America-hating rag is to keep up with the domestic enemies of America. They publish stuff like this only to be able to say that they have "diversity" on their editorial page. Ef 'em [Fernando accent] "And I mean that in only the best way."

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for posting this!