New reforms threaten civil liberties
Under the guise of improving the gathering of intelligence, unprecedented powers to spy on Americans would be granted to agents
by Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, a civil liberties organization based in Washington

Momentum is growing for efforts to dramatically reorganize the U.S. intelligence community in the few weeks left before Congress adjourns. But while there has been much arcane debate on budgetary authorities, one important aspect of the reform proposals has gone largely unnoticed: the serious threat they pose to civil liberties.

Under the proposals being considered, there would be no protection against covert operations targeting Americans by the CIA and the Pentagon. There are no legal prohibitions against the CIA or defense intelligence agencies conducting covert campaigns against Americans.

These proposals also threaten to transform the FBI's counterterrorism operations by putting an intelligence czar, rather than the attorney general, in charge. The FBI operates with much greater accountability than the CIA, because the line of command goes to the Justice Department, which has an institutional responsibility for the protection of constitutional rights.

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