Good intelligence is vital for waging the war against terrorism and is difficult to obtain, he said, and some of the best comes from the terrorists themselves through interrogation, including some who are given “tougher interrogation” at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“We've also managed to prevent attacks and saved lives by monitoring terrorist-related communications,” Cheney said, urging the Senate to quickly renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Cheney said the act should be passed permanently not extended, as it was in August and ending Jan. 31.
“Fighting the war on terror is a long-term enterprise that requires long-term institutional changes,” he said, saying private sector assistance is needed and legislation should protect companies that help the U.S. government from lawsuits by opponents of electronic surveillance.
The failure to pass good legislation on surveillance will hamper “our ability to monitor Al Qaida terrorists… that we simply cannot tolerate,” Cheney said.