National Security Agency

Re "The wrong spy," editorial, May 9 Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden didn't nominate himself to head the Central Intelligence Agency. President Bush is a manager who wants no arguments and no discussions; that's why he chose Hayden, a military man who knows how to take orders. Hayden will perform just as he did at the National Security Agency, as the dutiful soldier. The American people have determined that the freedoms won by our forefathers are secondary to our protection from terrorists.

Distracting battles over bureaucratic turf. Sinking morale in the spy ranks. Another CIA director, his reputation battered, heading for the door with a long list of unfinished tasks. The ouster of CIA Director Porter J. Goss on Friday underscores the extent to which major pieces of the U.S. intelligence community are still in disarray despite -- or in some cases because of -- well-intentioned efforts to fix them. More than 4 1/2 years after the nation's spy services failed to prevent the Sept.

The House Intelligence Committee announced plans Thursday to expand its scrutiny of a Bush administration spying program that has intercepted international e-mails and phone calls of U.S. residents in recent years without court warrants.

Re "Tapping into AT&T," editorial, Feb. 5 The Times thinks that AT&T should thwart all telephone surveillance by the National Security Agency in the future and that there is no excuse or need for warrantless domestic surveillance. Additionally, The Times believes this anti-terrorism tool is illegal and should be discontinued, despite its success in preventing any post-9/11 terrorism on U.S. soil so far. I think The Times' editorial board has memory loss and would be one of the first to howl about President Bush being inept if and when the U.S. were hit with a major terrorist act. I can only conclude The Times wants to restrict those who want to prevent terrorism, by protecting those who want to do America and Americans harm.

Ever since President Truman sent U.S. troops to fight in Korea in 1950, presidents have claimed broad wartime power to act without first seeking the approval of Congress. But they did so with the silence or implicit consent of lawmakers. Senators will convene today to confront the fact that in combating terrorism, President Bush has gone a step further.

An Internet rights group filed suit Tuesday against AT&T, accusing the long-distance telephone giant of violating federal privacy laws by helping the National Security Agency monitor calls and e-mail as part of its recently disclosed domestic spying operation.

President Bush made a rare visit Wednesday to the National Security Agency, the office at the center of the controversy over warrantless eavesdropping, telling employees there: "When terrorist operatives are here in America communicating with someone overseas, we must understand what's going on." And he urged Americans to take seriously the words of Osama bin Laden, likely the NSA's No. 1 target, in an audiotape released last week.

Re "Bush Says Terrorism Warrants Spying in U.S.," Jan. 2 President Bush justifies secret electronic eavesdropping by the National Security Agency with the statement: "We are at war with an enemy who wants to hurt us again." Because there is no way to know if and when such a war is over or even when this enemy is disabled, then this eavesdropping must be permanent and ongoing, yes? Goodbye, land of the free! Oh, brave new world, a la Orwell. NANCY PALTER Los Angeles Re "Leak in Domestic Spy Program Investigated," Dec. 31 I find it appalling that the Justice Department has launched an investigation into who leaked classified information regarding President Bush's secret domestic spying program, instead of investigating why the program exists in the first place.

WHEN George W. Bush promised that his administration would promote faith-based initiatives, who would have guessed that one of them would involve asserting the divine right of presidents? Well, now we know.