Following the Money, and the Rules - New York Times

Following the Money, and the Rules - New York Times:

The Times is wrong to have published the story and wrong in its thinking about Congress and the courts. Effective intelligence work is done quietly, behind the scenes, without the type of political 'oversight' that provides no benefit for our security but lots of opportunity for political rhetoric. The media and Congress are the first to criticize our intelligence agencies and in the days of Frank Church, to hamstring them for years leading to 9/11.

The Times may think they are right in their continuing effort to undermine the Executive branch in the guise of the 'public interest.' Instead they provide comfort to our enemies while alienating many Americans who believe we need to take all feasible steps to find and defeat the terrorist maniacs.

"Investigators will probably need to monitor the flow of money to and from suspected terrorists and listen in on their phone conversations for decades to come. No one wants that to stop, but if America is going to continue to be America, these efforts need to be done under a clear and coherent set of rules, with the oversight of Congress and the courts."