Obama Seeks Another Extension of NSA Telephone Surveillance

Talks Up Ending Program, But Not Yet

President Obama’s high profile comments this week have all centered around “ending” the NSA bulk surveillance program and replacing it with some form of easier individual surveillance.

His action are at cross purposes to that, however, as President Obama today ordered the Justice Department to get another 90-day extension for the very program he promised to end.

Not that this was a huge surprise, as President Obama’s “plan” was light on specifics and timelines, and it was suggested then that the bulk program might see multiple more extensions before its replacement.

Though Obama said he was confident the plan would calm opposition to the NSA surveillance programs, there is considerable skepticism about how the plan will work and indeed if they will amount to any meaningful change to America’s surveillance state.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.