George,

We Americans are being beclouded by secret wars, fought by the CIA, undisclosed to the public, and fraught with government inter-agency intrigue and bureaucratic battles. I remember the secret war in Laos, and the violation of the Geneva Accords, and finally the Viet Nam conventional warfare.

To me, at least, the threats to public knowledge and to democratic participation are greater than any compromises of CIA operations and intelligence. It is not like we are without precedents.

It may be legal under the Patriot Act to take such intrusive searches of media sources; but such an unprecedented action should be reviewed at the highest levels because of its threat to our 1st Amendment protections.

Rich Collins (Electronic mail, May 16, 2013)