As the Bush administration "takes the offensive" in defending the NSA warrantless spy program Karl Rove may want to re-examine his political tactic of first trotting out a Bush sycophant whos official title literally begins with the word "lie" and who also stands to spend a number of years in "Club Fed" if the truth ever comes out.
In a surprisingly open forum, held at a Washington D.C. Press Club and Bush administration staged event, Lieutenant General Michael V. Hayden, USAF retired Director of the National Security Agency/Chief Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) from March 1999 to April 2005, proved that the only thing that remains "offensive" in this administrations defense of the NSA warrantless spy program is their continued contempt of the Constitution and the American people.
Winding down his prepared (read: anger at the NSA whistleblowers and NY Times demagoguery) speech General Hayden opened the mics to questions from the public. But when confronted by a representative of the http://www.worldcantwait.net who asked very specifically, "Is the NSA using this program to spy on political dissenters or oppsosition groups to the Bush administration?", General Hayden simply shut his mouth and stared the questioner down moving quickly on to the next question.
Later in the staged event a Knight Ridder journalist got into a shouting match with General Hayden when he denied that the 4th Amendment included a passage that included the requirement of "probable cause" before a warrant can be issued. General Hayden didn't just gloss over the "probable cause" section of the 4th amendement he denied that it even existed. As the Knight Ridder journalist became increasingly frustrated time and again General Hayden denied that the 4th amendment included "probable cause" requirements and kept referring to "against unreasonable searches and seizures" as the only qualifier contained in the 4th Amendment.
The 4th Amendment to the Constitution: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
If the best Rove et al can do in their frenzied defense of the illegal (FISA) and un-Constitutional (4th Amendment) NSA warrantless spy program is to promote a man, Lieutenant General Michael V. Hayden, that 1) publicly acknowledges in his silence that the NSA is spying on political dissenters and that 2) even the most senior heads at the NSA have no idea what the Constitution allows or disallows the need for further discussion remains moot, we've already won the debate.
