The US Constitution does not apply to those outside the US. And it certainly does not apply to enemies who are actively fighting our men and women in uniform. But a warped view of the Bill of Rights seems to have cost some soldiers their lives earlier this year.

In the early hours of May 12, seven U.S. soldiers - including Spc. Jimenez - were on lookout near a patrol base in the al Qaeda-controlled area of Iraq called the "Triangle of Death."

Sometime before dawn, heavily armed al Qaeda gunmen quietly cut through the tangles of concertina wire surrounding the outpost of two Humvees and made a massive and coordinated surprise attack.

Four of the soldiers were killed on the spot and three others were taken hostage.
A search to rescue the men was quickly launched. But it soon ground to a halt as lawyers - obeying strict U.S. laws about surveillance - cobbled together the legal grounds for wiretapping the suspected kidnappers.

Starting at 10 a.m. on May 15, according to a timeline provided to Congress by the director of national intelligence, lawyers for the National Security Agency met and determined that special approval from the attorney general would be required first.

For an excruciating nine hours and 38 minutes, searchers in Iraq waited as U.S. lawyers discussed legal issues and hammered out the "probable cause" necessary for the attorney general to grant such "emergency" permission.

Finally, approval was granted and, at 7:38 that night, surveillance began.
"The intelligence community was forced to abandon our soldiers because of the law," a senior congressional staffer with access to the classified case told The Post.

"How many lawyers does it take to rescue our soldiers?" he asked. "It should be zero."

Excuse me – the enemy on the field of battle does not have a right to the protection of the Constitution. He does not have a right to have a warrant issued before we intercept his phone calls, no matter where the hub is. And our soldiers do have a right to expect that the full range of American resources will be deployed to rescue them – and that does not include a battalion of attorneys to muck up the process and prevent prompt action.

Any new FISA legislation needs to make this clear. And if it does not, the President should veto it, and follow the precedents set by FDR to engage in intelligence gathering without warrants.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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