Not just criminals, incompetent criminals.

georgia10 on the upcoming NSA eavesdropping hearings:

I propose that the thrust of our debate on this focus not completely on the 4th Amendment issue, but on the program's ineffectiveness. Americans are far too willing to sacrifice civil liberties for safety. What we need to prove to America is that this domestic spying program is so ineffective, it compromises national security instead of enhancing it. We will never escape the false framework of civil liberty vs. safety that the media and the administration have engaged us in. If we haven't done it in the 4 years since 9/11, we sure as hell won't do it in the few weeks that the this story may stay alive. If we cannot change the framework, let us use it to our advantage.

They're not just criminals. They're incompetent boobs. We should gladly turn over our liberties to the folks whose foresight has us mired in Mesopotamia and whose planning allowed a major American city to be wiped off the map.

Why does Bush's order hinder the War on Terrorism?

It's simple, really. First and foremost, any terror conviction can now be challenged under a "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine (See Andrew C. White's diary here). Bush acting outside the law has actually made it easier for those charged with terrorism to suppress evidence against them.

Second, the program is a distraction which wastes critical manpower. FBI agents who are supposed to be chasing down terrorists are, because of this far-reaching scope of this program, investigating ordinary Americans. Under Bush's program, thousands of FBI officers are chasing calls to Pizza Hut rather than chasing sleeper cells who may be planning to attack us.

Finally--and this is the point the Democrats need to hit, hard--Bush's spying program has not resulted in a single terror lead in the four years it has been implemented. Not one single lead.

Yes, these are the people we want working to make us safer.