American Greatness: As Americans learn about Foreign Intelligence Security Act abuses and the misuse of national security data for political purposes—executed by contractors until then NSA Director Admiral Rogers learned of it and halted the program, they are justly disturbed. Elements in our government were spying on a presidential campaign and on the Trump White House itself.
While the deadly battle to uncover, or to obfuscate, events around the 2016 election plays out, many Americans are starting to ask a deeper question.
Has our massive, complex national security apparatus made us less secure as a nation? Has it, in fact, become a danger to our republic?
It’s not a question to ask or answer lightly. But consider this single statistic: according to the NSA’s official report, in 2018 the number of warrantless searches of US citizens’ email and phone data spiked 28 percent to the equivalent of roughly 4 percent of the total U.S. adult population (estimate based on 2010 census age demographics). Note that these were only the searches conducted without a court-issued warrant.
We want to keep our country safe. But to do that we need those we entrust with great and secret power to be both effective and accountable in their actions.
Two personal anecdotes from the periphery of the intelligence community hint at some of the issues.
It’s the kind of question, I think, that to ask it is to answer it!
The intel community has always been a danger to our republic.
If our govt derives its just powers from the consent of the governed, how can I offer informed consent if that govt keeps many of its activities secret from me and criminalizes any attempt on my part to discover and publicize what its up to?
…when we’ve reached a point where Democrats OPENLY threaten a duly elected President with them, I’d say the answer is YES in that Ben-Hur title card-size font…
“Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer…”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonexaminer.com/schumer-warns-trump-intel-officials-have-six-ways-from-sunday-at-getting-back-at-you%3f_amp=true
“I created a monster that cannot be
contained” said by Truman right after
the CIA was started.The sale of hard core
narcotics in this country funds the underground
operations of the CIA in case anyone here
didn’t know.
July 26, 1908, BOI(Bureau of Investigation) re-named FBI in 1932.
Misuse of the Intel Community has been a “danger” to the Republic for over 100 years. And it’s history of abuses is one that is EXTREMELY well documented. So Yeah.
The tense of the question is wrong! Is should be past tense.
Happened decades ago!
RADIOATIONMAN is right. It happened over 70 years ago. Bush just brought it to our attention this century; that is those too poor to take out their wallets and pay attention did not get.
The :CIA, FBI,HSA… have at best been immaterial in American well being, AT WORST THEY HAVE BEES VERY DETRIMENTAL TO AMERICAN WELL BEING . As bush’s: Brennan, Clapper, Mueller et. al. have shown the last 18 years.
The answer is yes. The reason is treason. The solution is public executions.
This topic reminds me of the famous quote about the weather: Everybody complains about it but nobody does anything about it.
Except Edward Snowden, and look what it got him.
Which is why nobody does anything about it.
We should purge the state dept, the CIA and ALL the leadership in the FBI.
Period.
Yes, but now, they have surrogates (proxies): Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Its way past time to put Pandora back in its box. Too bad some don’t care to recognize its power or its actual threat.
I hate redundancy!!
The answer is…YES, Charlie Brown.
Ghost
Yes. I am thinking anarchy is preferable to the police state.
No.
There are 21….now it’s 23, 23 different intelligence agencies in America.
There is only one bureaucratic danger to our Republic. It’s called Homeland Security.
Homeland Security is not keeping us very secure!
“CLICK”
The sound an “Add ERPO” hotkey makes when a warrant for your guns is appended, ex parte, to your dossier at the local Fusion Center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj8fP5wCy9g
Duh!
Secret State Police (Geheime Staatspolizei – and all variations on the theme), regardless of intent, become, by the their nature of “secretiveness,” a force unto themselves. And, unless they get the “Yagoda Treatment,” tend to do much evil in the name of whatever oppressors happen to be in political “control.”
It’s always a mistake to get a bunch of criminally-minded (the purpose, nature, and intent of any “secret” police is criminal – a “republic” has neither need, nor authority, for “secretiveness”) guys together, pay them from hidden sources, then relinquish all legal oversight, and expect them to do whatever it is they do for the good of the country – ANY country.
Pretty fuckin dumb, if you think about it.
izlamo delenda est …