Bush Pushes Patriot Act Where Al Qaeda Had Cell
Flanked by the prosecutor who helped break up a suspected al Qaeda cell, President Bush insisted on Tuesday protections against abuses of the Patriot Act are already in place.
"Those who criticize the Patriot Act must listen," Bush said in defending the bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America. "The Patriot Act defends our liberty."
In his second speech in as many days in his campaign to extend the act as a vital tool in fighting terrorism, Bush aimed to bolster his national security credentials after the commission investigating the attacks raised questions about whether the administration could have done more to thwart al Qaeda.
Bush later headlined a Manhattan fund-raiser for the Republican National Committee, raising $3.75 million. "I will campaign hard," Bush vowed.
Critics of the Patriot Act, including some conservatives, say it has given federal agents too much power. They say the threat to privacy stems from provisions in the act such as those that make it easier to tap telephone conversations.
Bush countered: "It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place, when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."
Some provisions are set to expire at the end of next year. Those include provisions allowing intelligence agents and law enforcement authorities to share information about suspected terrorists, and expanded use of wiretaps and search warrants.
In delivering his message, Bush chose Buffalo as his backdrop, where six Yemeni-Americans pleaded guilty of supporting al Qaeda by attending a weapons training camp in Afghanistan run by the Islamic militant group.
Bush was joined on stage by Michael Battle, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York, who helped investigate and prosecute the so-called "Lackawanna Six" cell.
ANTIWAR PROTESTS
"We've got a lot of work to do," Bush said in a discussion of the act with law enforcement officials as antiwar protesters denounced him outside as a "traitor" and "murderer."
Bush said renewing and expanding the Patriot Act was key to averting future acts of terrorism. Senior administration officials believe al Qaeda may be planning another attack before the Nov. 2 presidential election.
But the presidential campaign of Democrat John Kerry, who voted for the Patriot Act like most members of Congress but believes it should be changed, said the law has done little to advance intelligence sharing in part because of turf wars between government agencies.
"The president is trying to rewrite history to show that the Patriot Act has been a cure-all for the intelligence failures that were exposed by the 9/11 attacks," the Kerry campaign said in a statement.
"But the record shows that the Patriot Act has actually failed to solve information sharing problems and that George Bush's security police may have actually hurt, rather than helped, intelligence efforts," it added.
Despite new questions about Bush's decision making, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found Bush holds a significant advantage over Kerry in public perceptions of who is better equipped to deal with Iraq and the war on terrorism.
- Adam Entous
Reuters
"Those who criticize the Patriot Act must listen," Bush said in defending the bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America. "The Patriot Act defends our liberty."
In his second speech in as many days in his campaign to extend the act as a vital tool in fighting terrorism, Bush aimed to bolster his national security credentials after the commission investigating the attacks raised questions about whether the administration could have done more to thwart al Qaeda.
Bush later headlined a Manhattan fund-raiser for the Republican National Committee, raising $3.75 million. "I will campaign hard," Bush vowed.
Critics of the Patriot Act, including some conservatives, say it has given federal agents too much power. They say the threat to privacy stems from provisions in the act such as those that make it easier to tap telephone conversations.
Bush countered: "It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place, when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."
Some provisions are set to expire at the end of next year. Those include provisions allowing intelligence agents and law enforcement authorities to share information about suspected terrorists, and expanded use of wiretaps and search warrants.
In delivering his message, Bush chose Buffalo as his backdrop, where six Yemeni-Americans pleaded guilty of supporting al Qaeda by attending a weapons training camp in Afghanistan run by the Islamic militant group.
Bush was joined on stage by Michael Battle, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York, who helped investigate and prosecute the so-called "Lackawanna Six" cell.
ANTIWAR PROTESTS
"We've got a lot of work to do," Bush said in a discussion of the act with law enforcement officials as antiwar protesters denounced him outside as a "traitor" and "murderer."
Bush said renewing and expanding the Patriot Act was key to averting future acts of terrorism. Senior administration officials believe al Qaeda may be planning another attack before the Nov. 2 presidential election.
But the presidential campaign of Democrat John Kerry, who voted for the Patriot Act like most members of Congress but believes it should be changed, said the law has done little to advance intelligence sharing in part because of turf wars between government agencies.
"The president is trying to rewrite history to show that the Patriot Act has been a cure-all for the intelligence failures that were exposed by the 9/11 attacks," the Kerry campaign said in a statement.
"But the record shows that the Patriot Act has actually failed to solve information sharing problems and that George Bush's security police may have actually hurt, rather than helped, intelligence efforts," it added.
Despite new questions about Bush's decision making, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found Bush holds a significant advantage over Kerry in public perceptions of who is better equipped to deal with Iraq and the war on terrorism.
- Adam Entous
Reuters
publicado por MP às 21:50
