To the Point

The Fight Escalates over Renewal of the Patriot Act

A rare coalition of liberals and conservatives-including the ACLU, gun groups and tax watchdogs--may hold up reauthorization of the Patriot Act before Congress adjourns for the holidays. When the FBI failed to prevent September 11, Congress enacted what supporters call vital new intelligence tools for preventing terrorism. But there-s been bitter controversy over provisions that permit searches of library records and secret searches of homes and businesses, allowances opponents call unchecked intrusion by federal agents into the private affairs of innocent Americans. Now, as Congress considers re-enactment of parts of the Act, one critic calls the debate -a gift for the Justice Department.- Are National Security Letters a bigger threat to privacy than library searches? Will the Senate see a bi-partisan filibuster? Making News: President Admits Intelligence Failures, Defends Iraq War in SpeechPresident Bush today delivered the last of four speeches designed to regenerate support for the war in Iraq. At the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, he accepted both responsibility for the decision to go into Iraq and fixing what went wrong by reforming intelligence capabilities. Even before he spoke, Senate Democrats accused him of saying nothing new. Richard Wolffe covers the White House for Newsweek magazine. Reporter's Notebook: Thousands in Beirut Attend Funeral of anti-Syrian JournalistTens of thousands of Lebanese have filled the streets of Beirut to protest the latest assassination of a major public figure. With the United Nations already investigating the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, this week it-s being asked to look into that of prominent journalist Gibran Tueni, also an elected parliamentarian and outspoken critic of Syria. Marius Deeb is author of Syria-s War on Lebanon and the Peace Process.