Speaking out against warrantless wiretaps

Re “GOP Praises Eavesdropping Program,” Jan. 21

The government’s “war on terrorism” is adversely affecting our civil rights when the president authorizes warrantless searches of communications within the borders of the U.S. President Bush has broken the law and promises to do so again. This gross misuse of power is now, according to your article, to be used to paint Democrats as weak on terrorism. How ludicrous! We are all engaged in this fight against terrorism. The administration’s relentless beating of the fear drum to entice us to give up our constitutional rights is the issue. Because Americans want to preserve our precious rights, the administration is labeling us as weak. This is an attack on all Americans.

PAT MONAHAN

Long Beach

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Re “Domestic Spying Gets a Boost,” Jan. 20

The Justice Department argues that the president is justified in ordering the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on citizens because America is at war.

“War” implies a clearly defined enemy and the possibility of victory or defeat. Neither is applicable in this case. Al Qaeda is a ragtag adversary at best that, although strongly motivated, is loosely organized, poorly armed and ineffectively deployed. And despite the president’s assurances that we will win the war on terror, there will always be those who wish to destroy us, if not Al Qaeda then whatever group replaces it.

If this war is indefinite, then the president’s claim of wartime powers also becomes indefinite, and actions excused as extraordinary become ordinary. That’s a constitutional shift no American should welcome -- or accept.

ROBERT J. INLOW

Charlottesville, Va.

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Congress is about to hold hearings on Bush’s ordering of warrantless wiretaps on U.S. citizens. These wiretaps threaten civil liberties and are a symptom of a larger threat facing this country: Bush and his administration are grabbing as much power for the executive branch as they can. The delicate balance of power that has kept our government more or less representative -- the system set up by the founding fathers -- is crumbling. Please report extensively on these hearings so that Americans can begin to understand the dangers we face as a nation and can make informed decisions and act in the interest of a free society.

JOHN INFANTINO

Los Angeles