EDITORIAL TROUBLING REVELATIONS SPYING ON AMERICANS WITHOUT OVERSIGHT PUTS NATION'S VALUES AT RISK.

IN the wake of the security-shattering terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, terrified Americans willingly, even gladly, conceded some of their privacy rights to help fight terrorism.

Air travelers submitted to long lines and numerous inconveniences with little complaint. The people also, for the most part, supported the reallocation of billions of federal funds to fight domestic terrorism and backed the Patriot Act, which significantly increased the government's ability to investigate - and prevent - terrorists from committing more atrocities on American soil.

If that's what it takes to keep the country safe, then so be it.

But the revelations in recent days that the executive branch has been authorizing the National Security Agency to conduct secret wiretappings of Americans, sidestepping procedures set up expressly for the purpose of providing proper oversight, is unsettling.

Federal law specifically allows for the president to act whenever he deems it necessary and allows up to 72 hours to get retroactive approval from a special court that rarely turns down administration requests.

President George W. Bush acknowledged he approved of circumventing the court, and defended his conduct as the proper use of presidential power. He said the spying - which was periodically reviewed by a small circle of his aides - was a vital tool for national security and was only used on those with links to al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations.

Bush may well be correct that the spying is necessary in the fight against terror, and even that it holds up to legal and constitutional scrutiny. But his explanation of why he didn't follow well-established procedures is less than compelling.

He has left himself and his administration open to criticism and fueled concerns raised by his opponents that the executive branch is overstepping its authority, brushing aside a system of checks and balances and undermining democracy itself.

The Senate will soon hold hearings on the matter, and various aspects of the Bush administration's conduct will be under attack. If more people become skeptical of the government's intentions, then the war effort will be undermined.

All this was unnecessary since there is every reasonable expectation that the activities authorized by the president could have been carried out within the boundaries of existing law. And if not, the American people and Congress surely would have backed any necessary changes in the law in the wake of 9-11.

The government must have the tools to fight against terrorism. But it can't be at the expense of our country's fundamental values. By sidestepping the safeguards provided by the U.S. Constitution and federal law, the administration may have done more harm than good.