CFR.org: Privacy vs. Security and Much Ado about NAFTA

From CFR.org:

The Privacy vs. Security Conundrum

The delicate balancing act of maintaining national security while preserving civil liberties seems to get more complicated with each new generation of information technology. The House-Senate stalemate over extending a warrantless wiretapping law marks the latest case in point. President Bush says his ability to prevent terrorist attacks has been jeopardized by the infighting. House Democrats deny the charge, and Democratic Senators accuse the president of resorting to scare tactics (WashPost) to push an agenda. Similar concerns are now manifesting online. A “cyber initiative” (WashPost) unveiled by the president in January aims to expand the intelligence community’s role in monitoring U.S. information networks. Bush has said little publicly about the program, but some envision a repeat of the wiretapping imbroglio. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has called for the program to be put on hold (PDF) until Congress can adequately review it.

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Much Ado about NAFTA

In state after state, the economy trumps national security in the concerns of both Republicans and Democrats voting in presidential nominating contests. Residents of few states, though, can compare to Ohio in their mistrust of trade agreements as the cause of economic problems. The Midwestern state, which will vote in party primaries on March 4, has lost more than a quarter of a million manufacturing jobs in the last eight years. Median income has dropped more than 10 percent in that time. In this climate, notes the Columbus Dispatch, “nothing resonates better with blue-collar Democrats in Ohio than the idea that wealthy manufacturers have taken advantage of trade agreements to move their production facilities abroad.”

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