December 21, 2005

Khaleej Times - Original Article (English)

Vice President Dick Cheney - In a Word, Spying - is Good.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is always ready to defend the indefensible. Even as the administration finds it hard to deal with the political storm over domestic spying, Cheney has boldly justified the practice.

Instead of being overwhelmed by outraged public opinion, the vice president has slammed previous administrations, saying that if they had allowed domestic surveillance (spying on the Americans), September 11 attacks could have been averted.

This is as strange as it gets.

Instead of explaining something that has angered Americans on both sides of the political divide, the vice president has turned the argument upside down.

It's absurd to suggest that eavesdropping on its own citizens could have saved America from the terrorists. The Soviet Union collapsed like a house of cards, despite the fact that it had turned spying on its own people into an art form.

America, the nation that was built on the ideals of democracy, freedom and individual rights, must not turn to abominable practices such as surveillance and phone-tapping to protect itself. America's strength lies in its free spirit and respect for civil liberties.