The Bush administration continues to firmly support wiretapping without a court order, despite the unending dispute on the controversial “Protect America Act”. In his radio address, Bush warned about an imminent attack planed by terrorists and the necessity to protect millions of lives.

Despite the fact that the discussions between the Bush administration and the Congress still continue, the surveillance law received a green light, at least for the time being. The Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made the announcement that the law will be resumed “for now.”

In the Saturday statement, Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey and Director of National Intelligence J. Michael McConnell said: “We learnt … the Protect America Act will resume, at least for now. We appreciate the willingness of our private partners to cooperate despite the uncertainty. Unfortunately, the delay resulting from this discussion impaired our ability to cover foreign intelligence target, which resulted in missed intelligence information.”

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In late January, the intelligence surveillance law was granted a 15-day extension, but the Protect America Act failed to get a permanent approval. The Republicans and the Democrats continue to be on opposite side with the granting immunity to telecommunication companies that collaborate without warrant.

The whole situation started after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when AT&T, Verizon Communications Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp faced dozens of lawsuits accusing them of violating the privacy of the American people after quietly agreeing to participate in the government’s communications spying program.

President Bush repeatedly said he supports the surveillance law and would only sign a bill that includes retroactive immunity granting provision. Bush’s critics on the other hand say the law practically gives the government the right to spy on American citizens, thus breaking their rights. A compromise however needs to be find so as to ensure both national security and respect the rights of the U.S. citizens.