John Boehner, September 29, 2006

Al Qaeda terrorists around the globe exploit modern technology to coordinate and spread their message of violence and hatred. They have laptops, cell phones, PDAs, satellite uplinks, and all sorts of other electronic gadgets. We know this because every time American troops raid one of their camps, a lot of this equipment is captured or left behind by fleeing terrorists.

When our troops confiscate this equipment we are able to see who al Qaeda terrorists have been communicating with, whether it is by e-mail or telephone. Last week, Congress took the first step in authorizing the Terrorist Surveillance Program when the House passed legislation which allows American intelligence analysts at the National Security Agency (NSA) to take this information -- such as phone numbers from a terrorist’s cell phone -- and track who calls them and what they’re saying.

The Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act (H.R. 5825) reforms the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), making it more efficient and defining when, with appropriate oversight, there may be limited, targeted surveillance of terrorists’ communications. The goal of this legislation is simple: to help prevent terrorist attacks before they happen.

This sounds like common sense, doesn’t it? It’s the kind of thing that an intelligence agency is supposed to do, right? After all, this is what cracked the bomb plot in London as well as other plots right here at home.

Amazingly, there are a number of people out in Washington who oppose intercepting phone calls being made by al Qaeda operatives. Critics of the Terrorist Surveillance Program think our analysts should delay their efforts and get a warrant every single time they want to tap a call made by a foreign terrorist.

Perhaps if we knew exactly when and to whom any given terrorist was going to place a call, this would make sense. But we don’t. And by the time an intelligence agent could do all the paperwork and move through the process of getting a warrant, the call would be over -- the information would be lost.

And as the attacks in 1993 and 2001 made obvious, al Qaeda does not operate exclusively overseas -- they work and plot here, amongst everyday Americans, exploiting our open doors and the freedoms we take for granted.

If a known member of al Qaeda from abroad is calling an associate in the United States, we have a duty to assume the worst. Imagine if we had been able to intercept calls coming in to Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, a terrorist who served as an intermediary between the September 11th hijackers in the U.S. and al Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In deciding whether to listen to a known terrorist’s phone call or not, we can’t be held hostage by red tape. If an attack is imminent, we must act and do what’s necessary to protect the American people. The Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act allows us to do so, and I’m proud I supported it.

We must jealously guard our rights and liberties. And we must ensure that our government has the tools to guarantee those liberties against those who would do us harm. The Terrorist Surveillance Program is a common sense weapon in the Global War on Terror that helps stop al Qaeda plots before they are carried out. It has proven its success in the past and I believe it will continue to be a success in the future.

Congressman John Boehner is the House Majority Leader. Boehner, a Republican, represents Ohio's Eighth Congressional District, which includes Miami, Butler, Preble, Darke, and Mercer Counties.