I've been told it's so that Jack Bauer from CTU Los Angeles can protect us. But you'll have to routinely let him brake all protocols so he can do his job - it's all for own good.
Man, this last season of 24 was awful IMO. The ending was just so incredibly anticlimactic. My favorite part about it was Belchek - what a badass. All he did was blow up stuff, shoot people, kidnap the president, and make Madonna references. They even let him have the last line of the season!