Radical militant librarians kick around FBI!
At F.B.I., Frustration Over Limits on an Antiterror Law
This article is intriguing, but only tells about half the story. While FBI agents decry “radical militant librarians” perhaps they should be looking at what exactly they are doing. Perhaps agents are not given permission to apply USAPA so broadly because — rather than it being a PR problem — the things they are doing go *way* beyond legal constitutional limits.
Another thought that is not brought out in this story is the fact that, despite not being able to apply USAPA’s draconian measures to spy on US citizens, there have not been *any* terrorist atttacks in the US in the last 4 years. On the other side, history tells us that our government has a nasty habit of abusing police powers when there is no oversight (remember COINTELPRO ?).
I would argue that USAPA needs to sunset NOW! Congress is currently discussing renewal of USAPA. Please call your representatives and tell them enough is enough!
One internal F.B.I. message, sent in October 2003, criticized the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review at the Justice Department, which reviews and approves terrorist warrants, as regularly blocking requests from the F.B.I. to use a section of the antiterrorism law that gave the bureau broader authority to demand records from institutions like banks, Internet providers and libraries.
“While radical militant librarians kick us around, true terrorists benefit from OIPR’s failure to let us use the tools given to us,” read the e-mail message, which was sent by an unidentified F.B.I. official. “This should be an OIPR priority!!!”