FBI: INSTITUTIONAL REFORM FIRST, THEN LEGAL REFORM

I'm still not convinced that the latest FBI regulations on domestic spying are leading us down a creeping road to fascism. My ears prick up, however, when criticism is being levied not from the professional civil libertarians, but from more moderate voices, such as as as Republican House Committee chair and a conservative pundit.

After thinking about the issue for awhile, I'm willing to concede that while legal reform may still be needed to permit an effective counter-terror response, it should not be the starting place. Considering how poorly the FBI and CIA did at sharing and processing their information, there is plenty of improvement that can be made within the current legal regime. That doesn't mean that legal reform may not be neccessary as well - simply that it needs to be done with the seriousness and nuance that such potentially far-reaching steps require. After all, its one thing to give up civil liberties to be safer against terror - its another to give us such liberties and gain little in return.