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(Author's note: This leapfrog version is to correct the inadvertent posting of two end paragraphs that should have been deleted.)

No, the NSA and CIA are no threat to our civil liberties. In fact, rather than being threats, since 9/11 they have safeguarded one of our basic freedoms: that of personal safety against people who wish us dead.

The National Security Agency, among other things, operates a vast and highly sophisticated electronic monitoring system that culls out potential threats to our nation. The role of the Central Intelligence Agency is to keep a wary eye on foreign governments, their agents and non-affiliated groups (terrorist cells, for example). Both the NSA and CIA serve as our early warning systems, that since September 11, 2001, seem to be working well.

Both agencies must operate within the law and are subject to rigorous oversight by both the courts and the U.S. Congress. There has not been any publicized case of any American who has had his or her rights violated by either the NSA or the CIA. In fact, the major criticism these agencies received in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks was that they did not do enough and failed to share information with other law enforcement agencies. It would appear, then, that any criticism leveled at the NSA or CIA as regard the possible violating civil liberties would have to be regarded as either politically motivated or hypocritical.

Here's what these agencies do: Say there's some terrorist cell leader in Detroit (let's call him Osama), who receives periodic calls from his handler in Lebanon (we'll call him Ali). These guys chat periodically in Arabic and sometimes use the words "Jihad" and "death to infidels." The NSA monitoring computers picks up this chatter and alerts the FBI or local authorities to begin surveillance on Osama, which leads to the apprehension of a group of fanatics who are planning to shoot up a Detroit shopping mall.

In the meantime, having been alerted by the NSA, the CIA begins surveillance on Osama's handler, Ali, who happens to be a Muslim cleric with personal and financial connections with terrorist organizations and governments throughout the Middle East. Through its Interpol contacts and other investigation resources, the CIA learns that Ali is a major player in international terrorism. Ali goes for a stroll one evening, is abducted and wakes up the next day in the American confinement facility in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Ali, who thought he was safe from detection, is shocked to learn that his cells in Detroit were broken up. The American interrogators convince Ali that he'd better tell what he knows or he might be an old, old man before he walks the streets of Beirut again.

In what way does the foregoing scenario threaten the civil liberties of any innocent American? To bring to a personal level, does the fact that any cell phone call I receive or make can be subjected to monitoring violate my civil liberties? If I pique the interest of the CIA by visiting an Al Qaida terrorist training camp in Iran, is my right to privacy somehow violated?

Those who use the civil rights argument to complain about the activities of our National Security Agency or the Central Intelligence Agency appear to be overly solicitous to the rights of those who care nothing about the rights of the rest of us. As Abraham Lincoln proved when he disregarded the rights of those who would wreck our Union, our Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact. Those who want to kill us do not deserve Miranda warnings nor gentle treatment.

Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
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