On the Defense

Obama: NSA ‘Transparent’

Tells PBS the program isn’t listening in on your calls.

The president is sticking by his guns. In an interview on PBS, Obama defended the spying program that has scandalized the country, telling Charlie Rose that the NSA tapping system "is transparent." He outlined the system in place to implement its use, and noted, "My concern has always been not that we shouldn’t do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances?" The bottom line: The U.S. isn't eavesdropping on your calls. "What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails … and have not," Obama explained.