General Counsel for the DNI Defends NSA Surveillance Program

Intelligence official defends mass gathering of phone data, David G. Savage, July 19, 2013, Los Angeles Times

Ex-CIA Operative Detained in Panama and Later Released

Ex-CIA operative convicted in Italy of kidnapping Muslim cleric is detained, Greg Miller, Washington Post, July 18, 2013


Panama releases former CIA operative wanted by Italy, Greg Miller, Washington Post, July 19, 2013  

Tension between tech companies and NSA

Rift on display between tech industry, White House over NSA requests, Charles Cooper, CNET News, July 18, 2013  

This article includes the full-text of a petition from tech companies to President Barack Obama for greater transparency about demands for user data.

Key dates in the evolution of NSA surveillance

FISA 101: 10 key dates in the evolution of NSA surveillance, Katherine Jacobsen, The Christian Science Monitor, July 18, 2013

The Secrecy of the FISA Court: Competing Viewpoints

Surveillance court too secretive: Our view, Editorial Board, USA Today, July 18, 2013

FISA court 'works well as it is': Opposing view, Steven G. Bradbury, July 18, 2013

Japan and SIGINT

Japan dropped plan for eavesdropping network, still relies on U.S., Yoshihiro Makino, July 19, 2013

CIA's Black Bag Squads

When wiretaps won't do, the CIA's 'black bag' squads get data the old-fashioned way 
Joshua Kopstein

Is the NSA an American Stasi?

The NSA's an American Stasi? Outrageous 

 "East Germany's secret police was an entirely different — and far more dangerous — animal"

The Costs of Living in a Surveillance Society

'Round the Clock Surveillance: Is this the Price of Living in a 'Free, Safe' Society?
  
John Whitehead, Attorney, President of the Rutherford Institute

Conference on Intelligence Ethics, National Intelligence University, 2012

"The National Intelligence University (NIU) hosted two Intelligence Ethics conferences over the past four months. The first conference discussed the importance of instituting ethical codes to assist intelligence professionals as they encounter morally ambiguous situations. Senior officials and experts shared their thoughts and experiences with 125 persons representing all major agencies in the IC. Later, on 10 May 2012, the NIU held a second conference for 40 persons in a workshop format. NIU students who had been enrolled over the past academic year in the Intelligence Ethics class presented six alternative intelligence ethos and code proposals to the workshop participants, with ample time for questions and answers about the merits of each proposal. The participants agreed that certain core principles captured a sense of commonality among intelligence professionals." 

Conference Proceedings, Intelligence Professionalism: Ethical Basics, Codes of Ethics and the Way Ahead, National Intelligence University, February 16 & May 10, 2012.