Annunciata quest’estate sull’onda del c.d. “NSA-Gate” sembra che a metà dicembre la review realizzata da un gruppo di esperti esterni all’amministrazione dovrebbe essere conclusa e gli atti resi pubblici.
Lo ha ribadito oggi il Wall Street Journal:

This summer, President Obama launched two reviews—an internal one and an external one. He highlighted them in a speech in August as part of a series of measures being taken to respond to the domestic uproar over NSA’s extensive spying practices in the U.S.
Those reviews have taken on growing international significance in recent weeks as top administration officials repeatedly cite them in response to anger from European leaders following revelations about Ms. Merkel and about surveillance of phone calls in France.
Most recently, the White House referred to the intelligence reviews in its statement last week on Mr. Obama’s call with Ms. Merkel about allegations of NSA spying.
Traditionally the U.S. and four other countries—known as the five eyes—don’t spy on each other. The five eyes are the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The administration reviews are largely focused on countries other than the five eyes, officials said.
The reviews may take on an even greater role because the NSA is set to lose both its director, Gen. Keith Alexander, and its deputy, John C. Inglis. Both are scheduled to step down in coming months.
The internal review, among different U.S. national security agencies, will be informed by findings from the external review, which is expected to deliver its final report in December, said White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.
The external review, being carried out mostly by former government officials, has been criticized for being too close to the Obama administration and to intelligence interests.
Officials involved in the review have met with a wide range of interested parties, including Mr. Obama, lawmakers and privacy groups, said current and former officials, who add that, despite criticism of government coziness, the group plans to take a hard look at the NSA’s practices.
Its members include Richard Clarke, who was a counterterrorism chief for former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; former Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Michael Morell; University of Chicago Law School professor Geoffrey Stone; former White House regulatory official Cass Sunstein; and former Clinton and Obama administration economic and privacy official Peter Swire.
Panel members are spending multiple days a week on the panel’s work, a person familiar with the review said. “It’s actually a big deal,” this person said. “It’s the kind of time where independent recommendations like these could actually happen.”
The group’s broad mandate is to advise the president on how best to employ NSA’s spy capabilities in light of changing technology, while weighing issues of foreign policy, national security, privacy, public trust and the need to prevent leaks.
Current and former officials familiar with the group’s efforts thus far said they are evaluating the management of NSA and agency security as well as larger policy issues.
They are also discussing NSA’s organizational structure. One question is whether it should be headed by a military officer or a civilian leader. Its director has traditionally been from the military, with a civilian deputy.
The group plans to issue an unclassified report. Its deadline for completion is Dec. 15.[…]