Posted by Diogenesis in #19 (thank you, Dio):
"WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence officials got mired for nearly 10 hours
seeking approval to use wiretaps against al Qaeda terrorists suspected
of kidnapping Queens soldier Alex Jimenez in Iraq earlier this year..
A search to rescue the men was quickly launched. But it soon ground
to a halt as lawyers - obeying strict U.S. laws about surveillance -
cobbled together the legal grounds for wiretapping the suspected kidnappers.
For an excruciating nine hours and 38 minutes, searchers in Iraq waited as
U.S. lawyers discussed legal issues and hammered out the "probable cause"
necessary for the attorney general to grant such "emergency" permission.
Finally, approval was granted and, at 7:38 that night, surveillance began.
"The intelligence community was forced to abandon our soldiers because of the law," a senior congressional staffer with access to the classified case told The Post."
