NSA IG Opens Probe Into Extra-Legal Spying Despite Having Given OK

The NSA's Inspector General is conducting an "investigation" of the legality of the extra-legal warrantless eavesdropping program.

This is not simply having the fox guard the henhouse.

This is having the fox "investigate" what happened to the chickens when the fox was guarding the henhouse.

The Pentagon's acting inspector general, Thomas F. Gimble, wrote that his counterpart at the NSA "is already actively reviewing aspects of that program" and has "considerable expertise in the oversight of electronic surveillance," according to the letter sent to House Democrats who have requested official investigations of the NSA program.

The administration does have it's priorities in this matter.

The Justice Department has opened a separate criminal investigation into the leak of the highly classified program's existence.

Democrats in Congress, for their part, want to make it look like they are doing their jobs:

A group of 39 House Democrats wrote Gimble and other officials last month requesting investigations into the legality of the NSA program. Gimble responded that his office would decline to launch its own investigation because of the ongoing NSA probe.

Another inspector general, Glenn A. Fine of the Justice Department, told the same group of lawmakers in a recent letter that his office does not have jurisdiction. The Democrats responded with a letter to Fine on Monday, arguing that both the inspector general statute and the USA Patriot Act require Fine's office to get involved.

One lawmaker, however, does see the proverbial fox/henhouse dilemma:

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said NSA's inspector general should not be conducting an investigation if the office has played a role in approving the program.

"The inspector general for NSA has repeatedly reviewed this and okayed it, . . . so I don't know how his investigation is going to get a new set of eyes on this," Lofgren said. "How are they going to be able to investigate themselves?"

Congress may decide to forget altogether about holding the administration to account about the scandal if they see the results of a new Washington Post/ABC News poll.

It appears that the majority of Americans are not bothered with the prospect (or even the reality) of having their government look up their asses.

Fear of terrorists, 9-11, dead bodies, etc. seems to have transformed the soul of a people. Not too long ago, Americans were once brave enough to pack up and move from distant countries to an uncertain and dangerous wilderness. Now Americans are mostly fearful wimps, who will overlook any transgression from their aberrant father figure in order to maintain their fragile identity.

Americans overwhelmingly support aggressive government pursuit of terrorist threats, even if it may infringe on personal privacy, but they divide sharply along partisan lines over the legitimacy of President Bush's program of domestic eavesdropping without court authorization, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Nearly two in three Americans surveyed said they believe that federal agencies involved in anti-terrorism activities are intruding on the personal privacy of their fellow citizens, but fewer than a third said such intrusions are unjustified...

Republicans offer far greater support for actions directly attributed to the Bush administration in the campaign against terrorism than do Democrats, who worry that the president will go too far and ignore civil liberties.

But the broad issue of protecting the country vs. preserving personal privacy splits each party's coalition, according to the poll.

Some Democrats are willing to support tough anti-terrorism policies at the expense of personal privacy, and some Republicans fear that individual rights may be compromised.

Perish the thought that illegal actions be held against the Commander in Chief:

So far, recent disclosures about domestic spying have not hurt Bush's public standing. According to the poll, his job approval rating stands at 46 percent, down one percentage point from last month.

Most Americans said they have paid close attention to the controversy over the program, and a bare majority of those surveyed, 51 percent, said it is an acceptable way to fight terrorism, while 47 percent said it is not. Beneath those overall findings, however, were sharp partisan divisions.

Among Republicans, 75 percent said the Bush program is acceptable, while 61 percent of Democrats said it is unacceptable.

The brave (sic) new world of post 9-11 America, being a "democracy", will doubtlessly get the government it deserves.

More generally, two in three Americans said it is more important to investigate possible terrorist threats than to protect civil liberties. One-third said the respect for privacy should take precedence.

The one-third must have misunderstood the question.