Even various Republican stalwarts have continuing problems (rightly so) with the Bush Administration’s wiretapping policy (as much for what’s not known about it as for what is). But there’s been an interesting silence about it from one quarter:
European restraint may arise from a fear of hypocrisy. The fact is that in much of Europe wiretapping is de rigueur—practiced more regularly and with less oversight than in the United States. Most Europeans either don’t know about this or, more likely, simply don’t care.
The extensive European taps are not new developments, made in the heat of passion after the London and Madrid bombings. European governments have been bugging phones for decades. In theory, the European Convention on Human Rights forbids “arbitrary wiretapping,” but, as we’ve learned in the United States, arbitrary is in the ear of the wiretapper.
The three worst offenders are not countries you would suspect of playing fast and loose with civil liberties: Britain, Italy, and the Netherlands.
Not that I would consider “Well, I’m trying to be more European” to be a good response from the Bush Administration on this …