Heather MacDonald

About the author: Heather MacDonald is a contributing editor at the Manhattan Institute's City Journal.

The almost hysterical backlash against the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness (TIA) project is unwarranted. The system would merely enable federal law enforcement agencies to better access information that the government already has in order to more effectively investigate and respond to terrorist threats. Critics of the program have exaggerated both its scope and intent, preying on Americans' fears of "Big Brother," the totalitarian government depicted in George Orwell's novel 1984. The sensational claims made by many journalists about TIA are uninformed, misleading, and irresponsible. Facilitating law enforcement's access to government records is a sensible and important part of U.S. homeland security efforts.

Every week brings new evidence of al Qaeda's1 continuing...