Not my thoughts only, but from the National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell. After the MSM continued leaking sensitive and critical wartime intelligence into the public and our enemies knowledge, McConnell gave an interview to the El Paso Times about what was previously classified but - hey, we can’t have that in a nation with 24 hour news and two holes in the ground in Manhattan now can we?

Much of what he said is blunt and to the point. Forget the MSM tilt on how AT&T, and other telecoms helped in the surveillance, we all know that they’ve been doing that since the mid 90s. However here are the most chilling and to the point words in the interview, read them slowly and when the next attack takes place cite them to yourself and know who is ultimately responsible for it.

“Q: Even if it’s perception, how do you deal with that? You have to do public relations, I assume.

A: Well, one of the things you do is you talk to reporters. And you give them the facts the best you can. Now part of this is a classified world. The fact we’re doing it this way means that some Americans are going to die, because we do this mission unknown to the bad guys because they’re using a process that we can exploit and the more we talk about it, the more they will go with an alternative means and when they go to an alternative means, remember what I said, a significant portion of what we do, this is not just threats against the United States, this is war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Q. So you’re saying that the reporting and the debate in Congress means that some Americans are going to die?

A. That’s what I mean. Because we have made it so public. We used to do these things very differently, but for whatever reason, you know, it’s a democratic process and sunshine’s a good thing. We need to have the debate. The reason that the FISA law was passed in 1978 was an arrangement was worked out between the Congress and the administration, we did not want to allow this community to conduct surveillance, electronic surveillance, of Americans for foreign intelligence unless you had a warrant, so that was required. So there was no warrant required for a foreign target in a foreign land. And so we are trying to get back to what was the intention of ‘78. Now because of the claim, counterclaim, mistrust, suspicion, the only way you could make any progress was to have this debate in an open way.

Q. So you don’t think there was an alternative way to do this?

A. There may have been an alternative way, but we are where are …

Q. A better way, I should say.

A. All of my briefs initially were very classified. But it became apparent that we were not going to be able to carry the day if we don’t talk to more people.

Q. Some might say that’s the price you pay for living in a free society. Do you think that this is necessary that these Americans die?

A. We could have gotten there a different way. We conducted intelligence since World War II and we’ve maintained a sensitivity as far as sources and methods. It’s basically a sources and methods argument. If you don’t protect sources and methods then those you target will choose alternative means, different paths. As it is today al-Qaida in Iraq is targeting Americans, specifically the coalition. There are activities supported by other nations to import electronic, or explosively formed projectiles, to do these roadside attacks and what we know about that is often out of very sensitive sources and methods. So the more public it is, then they take it away from us. So that’s the tradeoff.”

“Tradeoff”. For no other reason that partisan politics, the left and their mouthpieces in the MSM let the world know what we’re up to at the same time we were trying to find out what the bad guys are up to. The left can spin that “spying on americans” all they want, the simple fact is that not one shred of evidence exist that americans were inappropriately surveilled, unless they were talking to terrorist in which case they have no right to privacy.

Perhaps the writer of a few weeks back was right we do need another 9/11. Not to unite us, but to finalize the indictment of the left in this country.