January 17, 2014, from the White House at 11am Eastern:
Official White House Transcript: Remarks by the President on Review of Signals Intelligence
[Post 9/11], in our rush to respond to a very real and novel set of threats, the risk of government overreach — the possibility that we lose some of our core liberties in pursuit of security — also became more pronounced. We saw, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, our government engaged in enhanced interrogation techniques that contradicted our values. As a Senator, I was critical of several practices, such as warrantless wiretaps. And all too often new authorities were instituted without adequate public debate.
Through a combination of action by the courts, increased congressional oversight, and adjustments by the previous administration, some of the worst excesses that emerged after 9/11 were curbed by the time I took office. But a variety of factors have continued to complicate America’s efforts to both defend our nation and uphold our civil liberties.
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Now, to say that our intelligence community follows the law, and is staffed by patriots, is not to suggest that I or others in my administration felt complacent about the potential impact of these programs. Those of us who hold office in America have a responsibility to our Constitution, and while I was confident in the integrity of those who lead our intelligence community, it was clear to me in observing our intelligence operations on a regular basis that changes in our technological capabilities were raising new questions about the privacy safeguards currently in place.
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First, everyone who has looked at these problems, including skeptics of existing programs, recognizes that we have real enemies and threats, and that intelligence serves a vital role in confronting them. We cannot prevent terrorist attacks or cyber threats without some capability to penetrate digital communications — whether it’s to unravel a terrorist plot; to intercept malware that targets a stock exchange; to make sure air traffic control systems are not compromised; or to ensure that hackers do not empty your bank accounts. We are expected to protect the American people; that requires us to have capabilities in this field.
[…]
As the nation that developed the Internet, the world expects us to ensure that the digital revolution works as a tool for individual empowerment, not government control. Having faced down the dangers of totalitarianism and fascism and communism, the world expects us to stand up for the principle that every person has the right to think and write and form relationships freely — because individual freedom is the wellspring of human progress.
Those values make us who we are. And because of the strength of our own democracy, we should not shy away from high expectations. For more than two centuries, our Constitution has weathered every type of change because we have been willing to defend it, and because we have been willing to question the actions that have been taken in its defense. Today is no different. I believe we can meet high expectations. Together, let us chart a way forward that secures the life of our nation while preserving the liberties that make our nation worth fighting for.
Facts and opinion, pre-speech:
USA Today: Obama faces criticism on both sides ahead of NSA speech
President Obama will wade into treacherous waters Friday when he delivers his much-anticipated address on government surveillance. Already the knives are out on both sides.
Privacy activists worry that he won’t go far enough to curtail government snooping. Conservative national security experts want him to reject all recommendations for change; a member of Obama’s own review panel is expressing disappointment over reports that the president will reject one of the panel’s key recommendations.
After spending much of the last month pondering 46 recommendations he received from a blue-chip panel he convened in the face of public outrage spurred by a series of revelations on government snooping by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, Obama seems intent on taking a middle path.
Washington Post:The 4 numbers you need to know for President Obama’s NSA speech
Ahead of Obama’s speech, in which he will endorse some new limits on phone record collection — though nothing big and broad — and call upon Congress to help shape the future of the program, it’s worth taking a look at where the American public stands.
* 60 percent: That’s the percentage of Americans who said they believe Edward Snowden’s exposure of surveillance programs harmed national security, according to the poll.
* 68 percent: Nearly 70 percent said the NSA’s surveillance of telephone call records and internet traffic intrudes on some Americans’ privacy rights, according to the Post-ABC poll.
* 53 percent: More than half of Americans said they disapproved of the way Obama had handled the NSA surveillance activities, compared to just 35 percent who said they approved
* 2 percent: The NSA programs were not named among Americans’ list of Obama’s “biggest failures” in the Gallup poll.
BBC: Obama: Speech on perceived NSA abuses a turning point
President Obama has spent a huge amount of time working out what to do. Over the last two weeks there has been a steady stream of visitors to the White House as he hears from senators, congressmen, CEOs of internet companies and civil rights groups.
One of those who have been consulted is Richard Clarke, former national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism and a member of the group set up by the president to advise him on how to respond to this crisis.
They made 46 recommendations and Mr Clarke says this is an important opportunity that won’t come again – an opportunity to get the balance right.
NPR: Five Changes To The NSA You Might Hear In Obama’s Speech
A committee tasked by the White House with reviewing U.S. electronic surveillance has come up with to National Security Agency spying practices. Here are arguments for and against five recommendations that President Obama may take up in a speech announcing policy changes Friday. [The five recommendations:]
– Limit Access To Bulk Telephone Data
– Privacy Safeguards For Foreign Leaders
– Judicial Approval Of Seizure Of Financial And Phone Records
– Appoint Advocate To Safeguard Civil Liberties
– Halt NSA Efforts To Crack Encryption
Post speech summary:
Obama: NSA Will Change Phone Data Collection, Stop Monitoring Foreign Leaders
President Barack Obama on Friday outlined specific changes he was recommending the National Security Agency make to two of its most contested practices: its phone records collection program and its surveillance of foreign leaders.
Obama’s first concrete recommendation addressed the NSA’s phone records collection program, authorized under section 215 of the Patriot Act. While he emphasized that the program does not examine the records of ordinary Americans and that the review board found no evidence the phone records program was abused, he announced the program would be altered.
“I believe we need a new approach,” the President said, according to his prepared remarks. “I am therefore ordering a transition that will end the Section 215 bulk metadata program as it currently exists, and establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk meta-data.”
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