Congress Urged: Address Terrorism War Problems

The Washington Post is urging Congress to address judges’ concerns with two tools used by the Bush administration to gather evidence in its war on terror: national security letters and warrants issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

National security letters are used to gather customer information from telecommunications companies. A federal judge ruled the government has too much discretion to determine whether companies may reveal they are turning over customer information to the government.

A different federal judge struck down a law that allowed surveillance and searches of Americans if “a significant purpose” is gathering foreign intelligence. The judge said the law violated probable cause requirements.

“In both instances, the judges used constitutional standards as blunt instruments,” the Post said in an editorial. “If their decisions are allowed to stand, two programs that have contributed to counterterrorism efforts will be compromised. Congress and the administration should not allow that to happen.”