SATELLITE SPYING ON AMERICANS: WHERE’S THE LEFT’S OUTRAGE?
My column today covers the civil liberties absolutists’ hindsight hypocrisy and selective uproar over the NSA’s surveillance of communications between suspected al Qaeda operatives and their contacts.
I note the silence of the New York Times and the privacy crusaders over a report last week that military spy satellites were used to monitor suspects after the Oklahoma City bombing:
Funny enough, another story about unprecedented domestic spying measures broke a week before the Times’s stunt. But neither the Times, nor the ACLU, nor the Democrat Party leadership had a peep to say about the reported infringements on Americans’ civil liberties. Sen. Charles Schumer (by the way, Chuck, how’s that apology to Lt. Gov. Michael Steele over his stolen credit report coming along?) did not rush to the cameras to call the alleged privacy breach “shocking.” Sen. Robert Byrd did not awake from his slumber to decry the adoption of “the thuggish practices of our enemies.” The indignant New York Times editorial board did not call for heads to roll.
That’s because the targets of the spy scandal that didn’t make the front-page headlines were politically incorrect right-wing extremists.
According to the McCurtain Daily Gazette, in the days after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the U.S. government used a spy satellite to gather intelligence on a white separatist compound in Oklahoma. The paper obtained a Secret Service log showing that on May 2, 1995, two weeks after the April 19 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that killed 168 people, the FBI was trying to locate suspects for questioning.
Investigators zeroed in on the compound in nearby Elohim City. “Satellite assets have been tasked to provide intelligence concerning the compound,” the document said, according to the Gazette and Associate Press. The Gazette noted that “America’s spy-satellite program is jointly under the control of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Targeting decisions are classified; however, persons familiar with the project say any domestic use of these satellites is barred by agreements between the CIA and DoD.” Photo-reconnaissance satellites that gather intelligence from space usually target hostile governments and foreign terrorists. “The domestic use of a military satellite for domestic spying is a violation of DoD and CIA regulations regarding the proper use of top-secret national security satellites,” the Gazette reported.
But with the exception of a brief Associated Press recap, the story received absolutely no mainstream media attention. No civil liberties circus. No White House press corps pandemonium.
The Left believes the government should do whatever it takes to fight terrorists–but only when the terrorists look like Timothy McVeigh. If you’re on the MCI Friends and Family plan of Osama bin Laden and Abu Zubaydah, you’re home free.
***
Meanwhile, a sane Democrat lawyer who served in the Clinton administration supports President Bush’s legal position on the post-9/11 electronic surveillance program.
John Hinderaker wants a reply from the NYTimes reporters.
Update: John receives some non-answer answers from Eric Lichtblau.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
First Day of 2012 Open Thread & Aspirin-Swapping Roundtable
January 1, 2012 11:45 AM by Doug Powers
235 CommentsReports: Miners trapped in Mullan, Idaho; 6 hospitalized
December 15, 2011 01:34 AM by Michelle Malkin
23 CommentsSports and the sexual abuse of children; Plus: Rick Santorum makes things worse
November 8, 2011 02:29 PM by Michelle Malkin
89 Comments10 years ago: My generation’s bloody wake-up call
September 10, 2011 10:07 PM by Michelle Malkin
44 CommentsHurricane/Tropical Storm Irene Open Thread
August 28, 2011 12:25 PM by Doug Powers
104 CommentsQuake alert: Shake, rattle, and roll!
August 23, 2011 02:03 PM by Michelle Malkin
231 CommentsHappy Mother’s Day!
May 8, 2011 11:07 AM by Doug Powers
57 CommentsChrist the Lord is risen today
April 24, 2011 09:32 AM by Michelle Malkin
100 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Riehl World View
» Whitney Houston: If I should stay I would only be in your way
Patterico
» Rick Santorum and the two playbooks
Gateway Pundit
» Barack The Benevolent
Riehl World View
» Romney's Blood Is Blue, Not Conservative



Pundit & Pundette
» King Barack vs. the Nonconformists








See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.