[Infowarrior] - FW: Chertoff wants US to review antiterror laws

[Richard Forno]

the quest for the "policed state"  continues.......rf

(c/o MS)

Chertoff wants US to review antiterror laws
More arrest powers eyed
http://tinyurl.com/pzr3q

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff  |  August 14, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Homeland security chief Michael Chertoff called yesterday for
a review of domestic antiterrorism laws, saying the United States might
benefit from the more aggressive surveillance and arrest powers used by
British authorities last week to thwart an alleged plot to bomb airliners.

Chertoff said no American links to the London plot have been uncovered, but
added that the top priority for US counterterrorism officials is to identify
any possible connection between the suspects in Britain and Pakistan and
individuals in the United States.

He said officials also remained vigilant for other attacks, and cited
concern that terrorist groups may ``think we are distracted."

Officials in Britain also said yesterday that they believe another terrorism
attempt is likely, and travelers there endured a fourth day of airport
security delays and cancellations.

At a time when Congress is questioning the scope of the Bush
administration's executive powers -- including a highly controversial
program to listen to domestic phone calls without a warrant -- Chertoff said
more powers to track potential terrorists inside the United States may be
needed.

He cited some of Britain's broader investigative powers that helped foil an
alleged plan by British Muslims believed linked to Al Qaeda to smuggle
liquid explosives aboard flights bound to the United States from London's
Heathrow Airport. British police have the ability to hold suspects without
charges for nearly a month and a greater flexibility to eavesdrop on
citizens.

The British ``have an easier time getting electronic surveillance, and they
also can detain people for up to, I think, 28 days without charging them,"
Chertoff said on ``Fox News Sunday." ``And those are very useful tools when
you're trying to intercept an ongoing and very dynamic plot when you may not
have collected all the evidence."

In a sign of the partisan wrangling to come as fall elections draw near,
some Democrats pounced on Chertoff's comments , saying that more security,
not more antiterrorism powers, is what is required.

``The Bush administration wants to poke holes in the Constitution instead of
plugging holes in our homeland security system," said Representative Edward
J. Markey, a Malden Democrat and a member of the House Homeland Security
Committee."

Yesterday, the administration scaled back the threat alert for flights
headed to the United States from the United Kingdom from red (severe) to
orange (high). The alert will remain at the orange level for all other
flights.

The Transportation Security Administration relaxed the flight ban on some
liquids yesterday, allowing passengers to bring up to 4 ounces of liquid
medicine into the passenger cabin. Insulin and other treatments for low
blood sugar are also allowed, according to a bulletin from the TSA. But the
agency also made it mandatory for all passengers to put their shoes through
X-ray machines before boarding.

Still more needs to be done, Thomas Kean , the former governor of New Jersey
and cochairman of the 9/11 Commission, told NBC's ``Meet the Press." He said
too many security holes remain at the nation's airports.

``When you and I go to the airport, there still is not a unified watch
list," Kean said. `` We should know everybody who is getting on that plane
-- or if any agency has any problems with them, they shouldn't be allowed to
get on the plane."

In Britain, where a third of all flights were canceled yesterday, Home
Secretary John Reid said authorities were conducting two dozen separate
counterterrorism investigations.

Unlike in the United States, Scotland Yard and other police in Britain have
wide antiterrorism powers and the ability to monitor and detain suspects
without evidence or the permission of a court. Britain also has a dedicated
domestic intelligence service, MI-5, that has wide latitude to spy on
British citizens.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress passed a series of
new statutes, including allowing greater sharing between the CIA and the FBI
of foreign and domestic intelligence. But the independent commission that
investigated the terrorist attacks ultimately recommended against
establishing an American version of MI-5, citing privacy concerns.

Chertoff, a former federal prosecutor, said yesterday that the massive
crackdown on suspected militants across England was a reminder of the
importance of giving law enforcement authorities more effective
investigative tools.

``What helped the British in this case is the ability to be nimble, to be
fast, to be flexible, to operate based on fast-moving information," Chertoff
said on ABC's ``This Week." He added: ``We have to make sure our legal
system allows us to do that. "

Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas , a Republican and chairman of the
Intelligence Committee, agreed yesterday that the British have ``better
tools." But, speaking on CBS's ``Face the Nation," he also acknowledged the
political opposition in Washington to any further expansion of executive
powers.

A program established by President Bush after the 2001 attacks bypassed a
special intelligence court to allow eavesdropping on Americans suspected of
communicating with terrorists overseas. It is now being restructured as a
result of pressure from Congress, where lawmakers have said they were not
fully informed about the program.

Bryan Bender can be reached at bender at globe.com.