Anti-Terrorist Protection Without Sacrificing Civil Liberties

Summary

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As President-elect Barack Obama confronts myriad domestic and foreign issues, one of the most critical will be what to do about the Terrorist Surveillance Program and other highly classified, covert programs that caused substantial civil liberties concerns during much of the Bush administration.

In this regard, his national security transition team will want to assess the effectiveness of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a five-member, presidentially appointed panel that provides independent supervision of the government's anti-terrorist activities that could infringe on privacy rights and civil liberties. The board was recommended by the Sept. 11 commission and created by the 2004 Intelligence Reform Act, as subsequently amended in 2007.

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Anti-Terrorist Protection Without Sacrificing Civil Liberties

I was honored to be selected by President Bush in mid-2005 to fill the Democratic slot on the first board constituted under the 2004 legislation. (Mr. Bush and I are old friends from Yale, and when he appointed me, he knew I am a longtime liberal Democrat concerned about privacy rights and ...

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