Flanked by the prosecutor who helped break up a suspected al Qaeda cell, President Bush insisted on Tuesday protections against abuses of the Patriot Act are already in place. “Those who criticize the Patriot Act must listen,” Bush said in defending the bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America. “The Patriot Act defends our liberty.” In his second speech in as many days in his campaign to extend the act as a vital tool in fighting terrorism, Bush aimed to bolster his national security credentials after the commission investigating the attacks raised questions about whether the administration could have done more to thwart al Qaeda. Full Story