Domestic Spying Led to Dead Ends; Civil Liberties Groups Plan Suits

The New York Times reports that the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights plan to file lawsuits Tuesday against the Bush administration over its domestic spying program. The Times also reports that the information obtained by this illegal surveillance program led to dead ends, contrary to the claims of Bush and Cheney:

President Bush has characterized the eavesdropping program as a “vital tool” against terrorism; Vice President Dick Cheney has said it has saved “thousands of lives.”

But the results of the program look very different to some officials charged with tracking terrorism in the United States. More than a dozen current and former law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, including some in the small circle who knew of the secret program and how it played out at the F.B.I., said the torrent of tips led them to few potential terrorists inside the country they did not know of from other sources and diverted agents from counterterrorism work they viewed as more productive.