Center for Security Policy: NSA reforms would 'damage' US

President Barack Obama’s planned reforms to the National Security Agency (NSA) “will do serious damage to US intelligence collection capabilities,” the hawkish Center for Security Policy warned.

The report criticized the president’s planned reforms and said that his speech announcing a path forward seemed to deride intelligence agency staffers. President Obama said that the NSA should require a court order before searching the bulk collection of records about nearly all Americans’ phone calls. He also announced his intent to transfer the database out of government hands. The Center for Security Policy report said that requiring court orders will “bog [the program] down with bureaucracy and lawyers, making it much harder to use.” “Moreover, this rule will put judges in an intelligence policy role that should be left to senior intelligence officials,” it added.