And so it begins....

"The Justice Department, moving quickly to use its expanded powers for spying on possible terrorists, plans to assign federal lawyers in counterintelligence to terrorism task forces in New York and Washington to help secure secret warrants against suspects, officials say."

"Critics worry that it could mean a return to the days of J. Edgar Hoover's F.B.I. in the 1960's, when agents routinely spied on people and groups for political reasons."

"A Justice Department official who has been working on the issue said.... 'In practical terms, on a scale of 1 to 10, this decision is about an 11 for us. There aren't these artificial barriers anymore. The wall is down.' "

"Justice Department officials said they were also planning to double the number of F.B.I. agents in the bureau's National Security Law Unit, create an electronic system that would allow field agents to draft surveillance applications instantly and require extensive training in surveillance law for agents and prosecutors."