Obama wants to tighten NSA leash (proposing "self-restraint")

[mountaineer]

Supposedly.

WASHINGTON — President Obama said he will propose reforms to rein in the National Security Agency’s snooping program — and even said that infamous leaker Edward Snowden exposed some “legitimate concerns.”

“I’ll be proposing some self-restraint on the NSA and to initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence,” Obama said on MSNBC’s “Hardball” Thursday.

“Part of what we’re trying to do over the next month or so is — having done an independent review and brought a whole bunch of folks, civil libertarians and lawyers and others to examine what’s being done — I’ll be proposing some self-restraint on the NSA and to initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence,” Obama said in the interview, taped before a audience at American University in Washington.

He promised an “independent review” to address issues raised by Snowden, a former NSA contractor who revealed numerous top-secret spying programs that target Americans and US allies.

“The Snowden disclosures have identified some areas of legitimate concern,” the president said.

He acknowledged the privacy issue is a major concern for young Americans, who once overwhelmingly backed him but whose support has cooled drastically in recent polls.

“Young people, rightly, are sensitive to the needs to preserve their privacy and to retain Internet freedom. And, by the way, so am I,” he told the university crowd.

Obama also defended the NSA for doing its job.

“We do have people who are trying to hurt us, and they communicate through these same systems,” he said. “I want everybody to be clear: The people at the NSA, generally, are looking out for the safety of the American people. They are not interested in reading your e-mails. They’re not interested in reading your text messages.”

NY Post

[mountaineer]

CNN blog:

NSA surveillance

Obama also tried to calm concerns about the National Security Agency and its data mining programs, saying the goal was to stop terrorists, not listen in on Americans' every day conversations.

"If we're gonna do a good job preventing a terrorist attack in this country, a weapon of mass destruction getting on the New York subway system, et cetera, we do want to keep eyes on some bad actors."

Obama continued: "I've said before and I will say it again, the N.S.A. actually does a very good job about not engaging in domestic surveillance, not reading people's emails, not listening to the contents of their phone calls. Outside of our borders, the N.S.A.'s more aggressive."

The President also says he is personally involved in reviewing policies following the leaks by former government IT contractor Edward Snowden, saying the "disclosures have identified some areas of legitimate concern. Some of it has also been highly sensationalized. And you know, has been painted in a way that's not accurate."

[mountaineer]

Reuters via HuffPoo

... Obama said he would not comment on details of NSA programs, but that while revelations of the agency's activities have raised legitimate concerns, some aspects have been exaggerated.

"Some of it has also been highly sensationalized and has been painted in a way that's not accurate," he said. ...
 

[rangerrebew]

If "self-restraint" is so effective, why doesn't he try it on Assad?  Why didn't he try it on bin Laden?

[mountaineer]

When has any gubmint agency "restrained" itself?

[flowers]

Yeah sure obama, you are going to practice self restraint on Christians, whites, Jews and tea party types. Another day another lie

[Cincinnatus]

This is certainly a good idea:

“Part of what we’re trying to do over the next month or so is — having done an independent review and brought a whole bunch of folks, civil libertarians and lawyers and others to examine what’s being done...

The only downside is that after the independent review is completed, as usual no one will tell Obama what they are proposing.

[mountaineer]

This is certainly a good idea:
The only downside is that after the independent review is completed, as usual no one will tell Obama what they are proposing.

And even if they did, he wouldn't care.

WWVJD?