Reform

I don't think that word means what Obama thinks it means.

According to the leaks, the [NSA surveillance] review group will recommend that bulk collection of every American’s phone call data continue, possibly by the phone companies instead of the NSA, with tighter restrictions than the “reasonable, articulable suspicion” standard for searching through them that the NSA currently employs.

[...]

For surveillance of foreign leaders, the group looks likely to recommend such spying be personally approved by the president or White House officials.

  Guardian

Yes, we need more power in the hands of the President. He already has the kill list. Why not the spy list?

In an MSNBC interview last week, Obama said the review heard from “a whole bunch of folks, civil libertarians and lawyers and others to examine what's being done”, and predicted proposing “some self-restraint on the NSA and to initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence”.

An external review panel appointed by Obama was also inclined to recommend that a civilian head be installed at the NSA, effectively splitting the roles, according to an official familiar with some of the early recommendations.

  WaPo

Easy enough to ignore.

“Following a thorough interagency review, the administration has decided that keeping the positions of NSA Director and Cyber Command commander together as one, dual-hatted position is the most effective approach to accomplishing both agencies’ missions,” White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in an e-mail to The Washington Post.

The announcement comes as the external panel readies a report on NSA surveillance and the White House nears completion of its own internal review. The White House will take the five-member panel’s recommendations under consideration but is free to reject or modify them.

Why even bother with the panel?

“The big picture is there’s not going to be that much [additional] constraint” by the White House, said a second U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “They’re really not hurting [NSA] that much.”

NSA officials declined to comment.

[...]

A third and separate NSA surveillance review is being conducted by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent executive branch agency, which is hoping to have its report completed by the end of the month.

Swell. Maybe an executive branch agency will recommend more power to the executive. And if it doesn’t, hey, it can be ignored, too.

 

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.