25 March 2015

In Washington, the Real Power Lies With the Spooks, Eavesdroppers and Assassins

By MATTHEW HARWOOD

A review of Michael Glennon’s ‘National Security and Double Government’

Almost two months after the first stories about whistleblower Edward Snowden appeared in June 2013, libertarian-minded Rep. Justin Amas — a Michigan Republican — and liberal Democrat Rep. John Conyers, also of Michigan, co-sponsored an amendment to the defense appropriations bill that would have defunded the National Security Agency’s call records program.

What looked like a Hail Mary of democratic accountability for the spy agency nearly passed, losing by a vote of 217 to 205 after the White Houselobbied hard for its defeat. While the close vote demonstrated a revulsion against the NSA’s secret surveillance of Americans, it also showed where true power resides in Washington when it comes to national security.


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