The deeper problem with "Intelligence Reform"
by digby
I wrote a piece for Salon today about the debate around the USA Freedom Act and other "reforms" of the Intelligence Community. I think the problem is that even if it had passed last night and even if it had been much better than it was, there is no reforming them simply by using the law to do it. The way these agencies are structured in secrecy and with ever changing, complex capabilities means that there must be a different mechanism applied. Oversight isn't working. Lawyers find ways to do what they want to do. The congress will inevitably legalize anything they cannot justify.
We need to do a serious re-think about how to deal with this stuff. The good news is that there are some very smart people doing that. Read the piece if you're interested in such things.
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