How to Build a Police State Based on National Security

How to Build a Police State Based on National Security
By Don Monkerud
850 words

Caught spying on Americans, the Bush administration has begun a propaganda "blitz" to justify a secret program that we are told is for our own security. Of course, the program is so secret that Bush won't reveal any details and will only give a brief overview to a few loyal Congressional insiders.

After a failed invasion of Iraq, botched rescue operations in New Orleans, and a Medicare drug program in total disarray, Bush officials want us to trust them to listen to our phone calls and read our email. His legal defense of the spying shifts faster than the banks of the Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.

The political justifications for spying resemble those the Fascists used to cement their hold over Germany as President Bush uses national security to assume dictatorial powers to spy on US citizens. Dictatorial governments often seize power to protect their citizens from an evil or outside threat. The Roman emperors usurped power to protect their citizens from civil wars. Stalin protected the state from capitalists and foreign intruders. Hitler protected Germany from France, the communists and the Jews, and Saddam Hussein protected his people from warring religious factions.

A standard Bush tactic, the current propaganda blitz drums up fear of another attack to gain support and condemns Democrats, who Bush, Cheney and Rove suggest are unpatriotic and soft on terrorism. There's no substance to these arguments, which seek to extend presidential power; "executive privileges" similar to ones Bush used to conduct secret meetings with oil conglomerates to set energy policy, and to set policy on torturing prisoners and imprisoning Americans indefinitely without trial. Former Vice President Al Gore called the decision to spy on Americans, "a truly breath-taking expansion of executive power."

Arguments about national security remain useful to the Bush administration, which has taken every opportunity to usurp power based on national security. At the same time, the Bush administration exploits our fears: consider the manipulation of the terrorist color code before the 2004 election; the invasion of Iraq based on the fear of "weapons of mass destruction;" and the speeches of Bush and Cheney repeatedly telling us to fear another attack. Expect more of the same. Karl Rove gave a speech on January 20, declaring that national security will highlight the upcoming 2006 elections.

The tactic works: Bush won election in 2004, and a poll in January by CNN/USA Today reveals that 50 percent of Americans approve of the president's order to wiretap without warrants, while only 46 percent say it's wrong. There is no evidence that such spying produces results. The FBI last week revealed that they were sent on thousands of wild goose chases based on false information from the National Security Administration. Not one lead panned out. If secret spying works, why are Bush and the GOP blocking an investigation and keeping the program secret? Are they hiding other, more insidious programs?

Before being caught, Bush said he would go to court to get evidence before conducting wiretapping. National security experts tell us that the government can obtain authority for wiretaps, reading email and other such intrusions if they present evidence of probable cause to a judge. There is even a legal provision that allows the president to conduct programs without authorization for 90 days, if the US is attacked.

Bush rejects these arguments and claims his own authority, scouring past laws to make unwarranted legal claims. Luckily for him, the public continues to ignore the fact that after he took office in 2000 and was presented with information about terrorist activity inside the US, he went to Texas on vacation. And this occurred after US spy organizations had legally obtained information on the terrorists.

Now it turns out that Bush demanded Google to secretly hand over Internet files to his administration, claiming to be investigating pornography. Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL have already complied. Secrecy is the order of the day as Cheney and Bush push for permanent approval of the oddly named USA Patriot Act, which gives the government vast new powers to spy on citizens, including their library and Internet usage. Recent reports reveal that the government is spying on peaceful protests and protest groups. And a report in January uncovered the IRS collection of data on political affiliation.

President Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment when caught undermining the Constitution, but with the GOP in control of Congress, they seem bent on giving Bush a free rein. Anyone who gets in their way is attacked ruthlessly, even to the extent of campaigning against GOP members who are not sufficiently loyal.

All of this points a Bush agenda to set up increasingly intrusive government. Although he claims to be protecting us from terrorism, his policies are setting up a system that will make it easy for the ruling party to manipulate the process and remain in power. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were intended to prevent this from happening, but Bush's insidious undermining of them is likely to lead to horrific problems.

The End
Copyright 2005

Don Monkerud is an Aptos, California-based writer who follows cultural, social and political issues.