According to the Associated Press, the Justice Department can't keep up with the growing demand for terror-related surveillance warrants.

The number of secret surveillance warrants sought by the FBI has increased 85 percent in the past three years, a pace that has outstripped the Justice Department's ability to process them quickly.

Even after warrants are approved, the FBI often doesn't have enough agents or other personnel with the expertise to conduct the surveillance. And the agency still is trying to build a cadre of translators who can understand conversations intercepted in such languages as Arabic, Pashto and Farsi.

To which I have two immediate reactions: (a) Only 85%? I'm surprised that number isn't considerably higher. And (b), to some extent, this is a resource problem. So what in God's name was this administration thinking when it concluded that it wanted to continue cutting taxes during wartime? If the worst happens -- and the experts keep telling us that it almost certainly will someday, despite the best efforts of the feds and the fervent prayers of the rest of us -- there's going to be absolute hell to pay for that irresponsible, ideologically-driven decision. (Via Drudge.)

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