Wider Angle: National Security Service

You may have noticed that the federal government has a new division as of today. The National Security Service "sets in motion a major restructuring designed to dissolve the barriers that have often kept the Central Intelligence Agency and the F.B.I. at arm's length, and elevates intelligence operations to new prominence within the F.B.I., which has remained firmly oriented toward traditional law enforcement, even since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."

The problem lies in the fact that the CIA and the FBI aren't just mingling for hors d'oeuvres and champagne. They're downing a case of Busch Light and having bad sex on a bunk bed. That always leads to strained relationships, awkward communication, and the bigger jerk with the upper hand. As you can tell, that's not good news for our civil liberties.

The following can be attributed to Timothy H. Edgar, ACLU Policy Counsel for National Security:

"Spies and cops have different roles and operate under different rules for a very important reason: to ensure that our law enforcement agencies stay within the Constitution. This proposal could erode the FBI’s law enforcement ethic and put parts of the FBI under the effective control of a spymaster who reports to the president - not the attorney general."

"This proposal upsets the delicate compromise Congress adopted last year which recognized the importance of keeping the FBI under the control of a director who reports to the attorney general. The Patriot Act has already given these agents access to a wide range of tools that might be, in some cases, unconstitutional. The United States does not need a domestic intelligence agency - a fact that was made clear by the 9/11 Commission, when it said the FBI should maintain responsibility over domestic surveillance to better protect our rights."