Like most of you, I was distressed and disappointed to hear that Sen. Obama would support the "compromise" FISA bill, especially given his past opposition to the egregious "Protect America Act" and his disapproval of retroactive telecom immunity.
Then, as always, he came through and demonstrated his value as a leader.
Read below the fold...
His statement is as follows:
Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. There is also little doubt that the Bush Administration, with the cooperation of major telecommunications companies, has abused that authority and undermined the Constitution by intercepting the communications of innocent Americans without their knowledge or the required court orders.
That is why last year I opposed the so-called Protect America Act, which expanded the surveillance powers of the government without sufficient independent oversight to protect the privacy and civil liberties of innocent Americans. I have also opposed the granting of retroactive immunity to those who were allegedly complicit in acts of illegal spying in the past.
After months of negotiation, the House today passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year's Protect America Act.
Under this compromise legislation, an important tool in the fight against terrorism will continue, but the President's illegal program of warrantless surveillance will be over. It restores FISA and existing criminal wiretap statutes as the exclusive means to conduct surveillance - making it clear that the President cannot circumvent the law and disregard the civil liberties of the American people. It also firmly re-establishes basic judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance in the future. It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses. But this compromise guarantees a thorough review by the Inspectors General of our national security agencies to determine what took place in the past, and ensures that there will be accountability going forward. By demanding oversight and accountability, a grassroots movement of Americans has helped yield a bill that is far better than the Protect America Act.
It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives - and the liberty - of the American people.
I am upset that telecom immunity is probably an inevitable provision in this bill, and Obama knows he had to make a tough and controversial call here. But he deemed that it was more important, in the last seven months that he is not President, to put an immediate end to now-President Bush's warrantless surveillance and contempt for the FISA court system. Without this legislation the surveillance continues unchecked. And we should all hold Obama accountable to revise the FISA law next year, hopefully ending telecom immunity (unfortunately this cannot be done retroactively, but it can ensure that companies never do this, or get away with it, again).
I still believe 100% in Barack Obama. From everything I have seen -- I have been a part of his campaign since it was an exploratory committee and have met both the Senator and Michelle multiple times -- he is a leader. I agree with him on most issues; I don't agree with him on everything. But when he makes a tough decision, he explains his rationale in full. This is someone who believes in transparency, and puts it into action. He walks the talk of leadership, and after we get him elected, we will all work not only to keep him in office but to hold him accountable for his decisions and guarantee that he continues to speak directly to us, the American people, about his agenda.
No human being is perfect, and certainly no politician. The two greatest Presidents in American history, Lincoln and FDR, made some highly questionable decisions (Merryman and habeas corpus, E.O. 9066, court packing), but they are considered great because they explained their choices in an honest and transparent way. Bush 43 has never explained why he does what he does ("I'm the decider," end of discussion). Senator Obama will be our next President -- if you want him held responsible in a public forum via press releases, open discussion, and some sort of modern-day "fireside chats" online, then you need to stay involved. If you have a beef with him, about anything, that is precisely the reason to stay an Obama supporter, so you can force accountability when he becomes our 44th Chief Executive.
Yes we can, and yes we will.