Terrorist Surveillance Stops Attacks

Last week I blogged about the recent capture of Muslim terrorists in Germany. At the time, there was some discussion of whether or not the new FISA law was something that might affect this sort of attack. Now we know.

The New York Times (amazingly) prints a story that the capture of these terrorists actually was the result of just such an eavesdropping law:

The government’s ability to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects overseas allowed the United States to obtain information that helped lead to the arrests last week of three Islamic militants accused of planning bomb attacks in Germany, Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, told senators on Monday.

Remember, the Democrats fought the most recent version of this wiretapping law (FISA) tooth and nail, finally giving in right before the August recess. But, that was just a 6-month renewal, so the issue will come up next spring. Do they want national security, or not? Obviously, this is a policy that works, so why fight it?

When it comes time to debate the issue again, let's think about the lives that were saved in Germany (American and otherwise) by having this capability.

There's my two cents.