“So to prevent another attack based on authority given to me by the Constitution and by statute, I have authorized a terrorist surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international communications of suspected al-Qaeda operatives and affiliates to and from America.”

--President George W. Bush, 2006 State of the Union

Do you want to prevent terrorists from launching another attack on U.S. soil? Then you had better get used to the idea of the government spying on people who have contact with al-Qaeda. Because that is what it is going to take to win this war. We live in an information age. If we don’t engage in wiretapping of individuals who have known associations with terrorist organizations, then we will not be able to prevent the next attack.

The President understands this. That is why he authorized a domestic eavesdropping program after September 11, 2001. So far the plan has been integral to the war on terror. Since President Bush began the surveillance program, we have intercepted plots to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge, to smuggle missiles into the United States, and to detonate a fertilizer bomb in London. This plan has saved thousands of lives. And let’s not forget that Bin Laden just released another video. Members of al-Qaeda still spend their days trying to invent new ways to kill Americans. We are still in the middle of a war. Spying on your enemies is a part of every war.

Predictably, the ACLU doesn’t get that. The ACLU has been foaming at the mouth over the alleged invasion of civil liberties. But do you think the ACLU is going to win this war for you? Besides, it’s hard to exercise your civil rights when a nuclear bomb detonates in your backyard.

Someone really needs to send a memo to the ACLU that leading a national hubbub over the President’s terrorist surveillance program is only helping the terrorists. As CIA Director Porter Goss recently explained, the public disclosure of the surveillance program has greatly inhibited the ability of the NSA to track terrorist communications. "The damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission," Goss said.