FISA's Fetters

[Commentary] The measure overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reflects a reasonable compromise, worked out over long months of negotiations, between the legitimate needs of intelligence agencies and the legitimate privacy interests of Americans. The measure requires an individualized, court-approved warrant to conduct surveillance targeted at Americans' communications with those overseas and -- in an expansion of existing FISA protections -- at Americans abroad. Purely domestic-to-domestic communications, even among foreigners here, would require a warrant as well. Intelligence agencies would be able to target and collect the communications of non-Americans "reasonably believed to be located outside the United States," even if their phone calls or e-mails passed through or were stored in the United States. But the agencies are required to adopt procedures to "prevent the intentional acquisition" of purely domestic communications and to minimize the retention and dissemination of such information.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR200807...