Obama announces shift in NSA programs.

President Obama announced he will no longer allow the NSA to store the metadata of phone calls as he plans to add civil liberties advocates to the so-call FISA courts while he will end spying on foreign officials and extend some privacy protections to foreign citizens.  Clearly, this announcement demonstrates a shift in the right direction; however, the effects of these goals and others to come will depend upon the details of how they are pursued.  As the American People, and perhaps the President himself, do not know the full extent of the activities of our national security apparatus, telling agencies like the NSA what they cannot do will not necessarily address the core issues behind the Snowden revelations.  Telling a spy what he can’t do just means he either needs to be sneakier or wait until someone else tells he can do it.  Consequently, I think our nation needs to focus more on defining what our national security officials can do to accomplish their mission.  After all, balancing their mission with the need for civil liberties does not appear to be a top priority in spite of what President Obama says.