Intelligence Professionals, National Security Experts Urge Obama to Maintain Key N.S.A. capabilities

MEDIA ADVISORY

For Immediate Release
For more information contact:

Alex VanNess
[email protected]
(202) 719-2421

INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONALS, NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERTS URGE OBAMA TO MAINTAIN KEY N.S.A. CAPABILITIES

Washington, D.C.: On the eve of the unveiling by President Obama of changes to U.S. intelligence policy and practice, a former Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a former National Counterintelligence Executive joined other intelligence and national security practitioners in an open letter arguing that the world is too dangerous for American intelligence capabilities – already damaged by Edward Snowden’s treachery – to be further degraded.

The letter to President Obama is to be issued tomorrow at the National Press Club. It will make clear six principles that should guide U.S. intelligence collection, while preserving Americans’ constitutionally protected privacy rights. It will also offer several specific recommendations for how such principles should be applied at this juncture.

The letter follows the release earlier this week of a study by Center for Security Policy Senior Fellows Fred Fleitz and Clare Lopez, both of whom were career CIA Officers with extensive experience in the fields of intelligence collection and analysis. The study is entitled “A Critique of the Recommendations by the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communication Technologies.” Mr. Fleitz and Ms. Lopez conclude that most of the Review Group’s recommendations for adjustments to NSA intelligence-gathering protocols would be highly detrimental to national security.

Several of the signatories of the open letter will be present to discuss its contents, the Center’s new study and the sorts of changes Mr. Obama is expected to announce on Friday.

WHO:

Hon. Pete Hoekstra, former Chairman, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Frank J. Gaffney Jr., former Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acting) and President, Center for Security Policy
Fred Fleitz, Senior Fellow, Center for Security Policy. Fleitz served in U.S. national security positions for 25 years at the CIA, DIA, Department of State and the House Intelligence Committee staff.
Clare Lopez, Senior Fellow, Center for Security Policy. Ms. Lopez is a strategic policy and intelligence expert with a focus on national defense, Islam, Iran, and counterterrorism issues.

WHAT:

Release of an Open Letter to President Obama urging that critical intelligence collection capabilities be preserved, not compromised further.

WHEN:

2:00pm, Thursday January 16, 2013

WHERE:

Bloomberg Room, National Press Club
529 14th Street Northwest, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045

For further background, please consult:

The full Center for Security Policy report is available here: /wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NSA_report.pdf

Report and Recommendations of The President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies is available here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2013-12-12_rg_final_report.pdf

Coverage at the Washington Free Beacon: https://freebeacon.com/altering-nsa-surveillance-programs-would-interfere-with-vital-intelligence-operations/