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Between the Lines
"Between the Lines" is a national, half-hour program that provides a platform for individuals and spokespersons from progressive organizations generally ignored or marginalized by the mainstream media.
FBI 9/11 Whistle-blower Coleen Rowley: Post-Charlie Hebdo Massacre Rush to Expand Warrantless Surveillance Counterproductive
Interview with Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent and 9/11 whistle-blower, conducted by Scott Harris
Europe is still on edge after two brutal terrorist attacks in France that claimed the lives of 17, including 12 at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and four at a kosher food market. Law enforcement agencies across the continent launched investigations into the links between the terrorist Kouachi brothers and Amedy Coulibaly, who were killed in France, and other groups of violent extremists. Two armed men were killed and 13 others were held for questioning after a raid on an apartment in Belgium, where officials say a local extremist group was planning an imminent attack. Dozens more suspected terrorists and supporters were arrested or detained in France, Germany and Greece.
In the U.S., conservative, mostly Republican politicians quickly used the terrorist attacks in France to counter the calls by many Americans to reform the National Security Agency’s blanket surveillance both at home and abroad. After former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the broad scope of the agency’s warrantless surveillance programs that monitor phone and electronic communications, some congressional leaders moved to support legislation that would trim back and reform the NSA’s spying power. But after the French terrorist attacks, the climate in Washington appears to be shifting.
GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Richard Burr of North Carolina were among Republicans who made multiple media appearances to support increased funding and flexibility for the NSA to enhance their power to more effectively connect the dots to prevent a future Charlie Hebdo-like attack in the U.S. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent, who wrote a critical memo and testified before Congress to describe some of the FBI’s pre-9/11 failures. Here, she warns that a rush to expand warrantless dragnet surveillance in response to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, would be a serious mistake.
For more perspectives on efforts to reform warrantless surveillance and the debate on the most effective approaches to prevent terrorism, see Between The Lines’ archives.
Related Links:
- Interview with Coleen Rowley, conducted by Scott Harris, Counterpoint, Jan. 19, 2015 (25:00)
- Electronic Frontier Foundation at EFF.org
- “The bigger the haystack, the harder the terrorist is to find,” The Guardian, Nov. 28, 2014
- “Why Do Americans Hate Beheadings, But Love Drone Killings?” Huffington Post, Sept. 28, 2014
- “Will the Charlie Hebdo Terrorist Attack Kill Intelligence Reform in the United States?” Huffington Post, Jan. 12, 2015
- “GOP Senators: Paris Shooting Justifies NSA Powers,” National Journal, Jan. 7, 2015
- “Attack in France shouldn’t blunt drive for NSA surveillance reform,” Washington Post, Jan. 12, 2015
- “Dozens held across Europe in Islamist suspect sweeps,” Reuters, Jan. 18, 2015
- “NSA reform facing hard sell following Paris terror attacks,” The Hill, Jan. 11, 2015
Minority Communities Excluded, Marginalized from U.S. Banking System
Interview with Mike Leyba, communications director of United for a Fair Economy, conducted by Scott Harris
As the nation celebrated the holiday honoring the life and work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. this year, disturbing signs of rising income inequality were evident in a number of important economic indicators. The top one percent of households now owns 42 percent of all wealth in the U.S. As the country is experiencing the highest rate of inequality since the Gilded Age, the middle class is eroding. A recent report found that the majority of U.S. public school students now qualify for subsidized lunch programs, calling attention to the fact that more than 16 million children in America, or roughly one in five, were living in poverty. Story continuesRemembering the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March
Interview with John Pawelek, professor at the Yale University School of Medicine, conducted by Melinda Tuhus
The new movie “Selma” reconstructs the historic 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, organized to press for voting rights. The film has generated a lot of buzz, though no major Academy Award nominations. Realizing that younger generations know little about the civil rights era, several black business leaders got together to support the distribution of hundreds of thousands of free movie tickets to middle and high school students across the country. Story continuesThis week’s summary of under-reported news
Compiled by Bob Nixon
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch recently released satellite images revealing the devastation inflicted by Boko Haram Islamist rebels in northeast Nigeria. (“Satellite images show evidence of Boko Haram massacre,” Globe and Mail, Jan. 14, 2015; “New Boko Haram attacks prompt calls for multinational help,” Globe and Mail, Jan. 15, 2015; “Nigerian military disorganized, under-equipped in battle and Boko Haram,” CNN, Jan. 15, 2015)
- Days after the Cuban government headed by Raul Castro released 53 prisoners; the Obama White House announced new relaxed travel and trade rules with the island nation. (“Starting Friday, US will ease restrictions on travel to Cuba,” NY Times, Jan. 15, 2015; “Q & A: understand the latest US-Cuba rules,” Miami Herald, Jan. 15, 2015; “Farm states: Let us sell to Cuba,” McClatchy DC, Jan. 7, 2015)
- For a full 24-hour day, fraternity brothers at the University of Northern Iowa took to riding a seesaw to promote sexual assault awareness on campus and raise funds for a local crisis shelter. (“Young men say no to sexual violence,” Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 6, 2014)
