tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10623297.post113510147773419249..comments2023-11-17T06:40:12.183-06:00Comments on Don Singleton: SnoopgateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10623297.post-1135137182569336652005-12-20T21:53:00.000-06:002005-12-20T21:53:00.000-06:00"But there is simply no evidence, or even reasonab..."But there is simply no evidence, or even reasonable presumption, that this is so." <BR/><BR/>What kind of evidence is Alter looking for that itself won't help the enemy? Does he want the identities of al Qaeda operatives, so he can go interview them and determine for himself if they are al Qaeda operatives? And what's the baloney about no reasonable presumption? What does Alter presume they are listeing to conversations for? Surely he has some presumptions since he can't presume it is for national security interests. <BR/><BR/>Alter apparently is clueless to the notion that acting on infomration quickly has any security merit, but he'd be the first to point a finger should anything happen here that with 20/20 hindsight he will conclude should have been prevented. I think it is reasonable to worry that such activities could be abused. I see nothing wrong with raising the question and continuing to harbor doubts. But the idea that one can assume with omniscient journalistic certainty that this is not helpful in capturing, stopping or killing al Qaeda operatives is goofy. Alter does not provide us any evidence that he has done any homework in this area besides having been on the receiving end of dubious "tips". Until he becomes a better journalist, we can presume that he is histrionic and hoping to sell copies of a fairly moribund publication by means of fear mongering.Barry Dauphinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15808109325931309525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10623297.post-1135106915240582792005-12-20T13:28:00.000-06:002005-12-20T13:28:00.000-06:00In my opinion the national security argument is vi...In my opinion the national security argument is vital. I would not support what he did on a "government knows best" argument.<BR/><BR/>If he was doing it to advance some domestic policy I would not support it at all, but the Islamoterrorists have cells right here in this country (remember most of the 9/11 people had been here for at least a few weeks, if not months), and I have no problem with tracking calls from known Islamoterrorists to cells here in the USA.Don Singletonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02991386635454877389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10623297.post-1135104961816478812005-12-20T12:56:00.000-06:002005-12-20T12:56:00.000-06:00I find your comments interesting, but I strongly d...I find your comments interesting, but I strongly dissent. President Bush's expansion of the federal government, in particular with his arguably illegal wiretaps, make him look nothing like Republicans of the Reagan era. The argument about national security I believe is hollow, and merely an attempt to push a "government knows best" mindset that seems more out of the first term of the Clinton presidency.Lou Pickneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03357326829429747290noreply@blogger.com