To the Point

Civil Liberties, National Security and Domestic Surveillance

Democrats--and some Republicans--have called for investigation of whether the White House is violating the law and encroaching on civil liberties, but President Bush said today he'll continue to authorize wiretaps on some Americans without asking for court orders from FISA, the court established by the Foreign Intelligence Security Act. The President insists he's justified by the law, Congress, the Constitution and the demands of national security. Are civil rights being compromised? Did President Clinton do the same thing? We look at the legal and political disputes that have disrupted the last days of the Congressional session.Making News: President Bush's Year-End Press ConferenceAt today's year-end conference, President Bush mixed a "kinder and gentler" approach toward critics with what sounded like political threats. He said he understands those who oppose the war in Iraq but denounced Senators who voted not to reauthorize the Patriot Act. Mike Allen is White House Correspondent for Time magazine.Reporter's Notebook: US Operated Secret Prison in AfghanistanYesterday, Vice President Cheney went to Iraq to highlight last week's parliamentary elections. Today he was in Kabul, Afghanistan as that country's new parliament took its oath of office for the first time. Though Cheney has called Afghanistan "an inspiration to democratic reformers in other lands," John Sifton of Human Rights Watch has troubling news on recent reports of torture in secret prisons.