A recent Harris Poll found that a majority of Americans favor increased surveillance and monitoring of suspected terrorists, but they want Congress to authorize it. Harris cautions that these views may have changed since they were collected before the UK and friends foiled the terrorist plot to strike US-bound commercial aircraft. According to Harris, 70 percent of respondents favored expanded public camera surveillance, and 61 percent think it’s OK to allow closer monitoring of banking and credit card transactions of folks suspected of terrorist activities. (Remember that a Pew Research Center poll showed a majority deplored news media revelations of such financial snooping, but they wanted to know it was happening.) The Harris Poll shows that a majority of Americans want all forms of terrorist-related snooping to receive Congressional approval.
The U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…
