WASHINGTON, May 31: The FBI on Thursday won additional powers to conduct domestic counter-terrorism surveillance that critics said could trample on Americans’ constitutional rights.

A quarter century after the government imposed guidelines to curtail domestic spying, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced changes to lift FBI restrictions on conducting surveillance of public gatherings, religious and political organizations and surfing the Internet as part of the government’s response to Sept. 11 attacks.

“Today I am announcing comprehensive revisions to the department’s investigative guidelines,” Ashcroft said. “The guidelines emphasize that the FBI must not be deprived of using all lawful authorized methods in investigations, consistent with the Constitution ... to pursue and prevent terrorist actions.”

FBI Director Robert Mueller, whose bureau has been under fire for its failure to act on information that might have prevented the deadly Sept. 11 attacks, said the changes are needed to properly fight terrorism.

“The guidelines changes that the attorney general is announcing today are important, they’re important steps to help remove unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to the effective investigation of terrorist cases,” Mueller said.

“These changes complement the reforms we announced yesterday to strengthen our, the FBI’s, capacity to prevent terrorism in the wake of September 11.”

Ashcroft said the changes will allow FBI agents to do what regular citizens can already do — monitor and watch events in this area. Under the previous guidelines, FBI agents had to offer evidence of criminal activity to get approval for such surveillance.

Civil liberties and rights groups have warned that the changes could result in a return to the days of domestic spying.

However, President George W. Bush defended the change, saying it was a part of necessary reforms at the FBI.

“We intend to honour our Constitution and respect the freedoms that we hold so dear,” he said. “Our most important job is to protect America. And the initiative ... will guarantee our Constitution. And that’s important for the citizens to know.”

RETURN TO COINTELPRO?: The attorney general’s guidelines on surveillance were first imposed on the FBI in 1976 following disclosures that the bureau under the late J. Edgar Hoover had run a widespread domestic surveillance programme called Cointelpro.

Critics said the FBI under Hoover had overstepped its authority by using Cointelpro to spy on civil rights activists including Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers, opponents of the Vietnam War and others.

“Apparently Attorney General Ashcroft wants to get the FBI back in the business of spying on religious and political organizations,” said Margaret Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “That alone would be unconstitutional but history suggests the FBI won’t stop at passive information gathering. We fear a return to the days of Cointelpro.”

US officials denied the moves would just give the government more authority to restrict personal freedoms.

“What these guidelines do is allow them to do what any other law enforcement organization, or in fact any public citizen can do — go on line, go to public places or events and see what’s going on,” a Justice Department official said.

“They are strictly focused on counter-terrorism activities. If an agent has reason to believe that there may be a terrorism enterprise in his area, he no longer has to wait for the terrorist to act to begin gathering information,” he said.

The new guidelines come a day after Mueller announced a changes to focus on fighting terrorism.

Mueller has admitted that the FBI could have done a better job of putting together the clues leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks by hijacked airliners but said he doubts they could have been prevented.

The change in the guidelines are in part a response to a memo written by Coleen Rowley, an FBI agent in Minneapolis, who complained that tough rules and bureaucracy hampered the initial investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was later charged with conspiring in the attacks.—Reuters