Citizen Cartwright

More NSA revelations said to be coming

Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for the Guardian, the British newspaper that broke the first story based on secret NSA documents, says, "There are extremely invasive spying programs that the public still does not know about that the NSA regularly engages in or other capabilities that they're developing."

Greenwald told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Monday, "We are working on stories right at this moment that we think are very valuable for the public to know that don't in any way harm national security but that shine a light on this extremely secretive though momentous agency."

Obama's reshuffled national security team

The president on Wednesday ushered out a cautious Washington insider and elevated two longtime advocates of a bigger U.S. role in preventing humanitarian crises and protecting human rights, says The Washington Post.

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice will take over from Tom Donilon as national security adviser, and Samantha Power will take Rice's U.N. job.

The "assertive" selections reflect a White House conclusion that when it comes to choosing personnel, the president can never satisfy Republicans — who will find almost anyone objectionable, says The New York Times.

Susan Rice became a lightening rod for Republicans over her initial account of the Benghazi terror attack.

Could better intelligence have prevented Boston attack?

After Senate Intelligence Committee members were briefed on Tuesday by FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce, moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins, Maine, said, "There still seem to be serious problems with sharing information, including critical investigative information ... not only among agencies but also within the same agency in one case."

Who attacked the Boston Marathon, and why?

While President Obama was careful not to use the words "terror" or "terrorism" when he spoke at the White House Monday about the two bombs that killed three and wounded more than 140, an administration official said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.

Experts say the attack has some of the hallmarks of a “lone wolf” or maybe an ad hoc domestic group — but that it's way too early to rule out individuals or a group affiliated or inspired by al Qaeda or one of its regional organizations.

Officials in Boston said there was no intelligence or “chatter” hinting  at a possible attack at the marathon, suggesting to some experts that the attack may in fact have been the work of a lone wolf or a lone wolf "pack."

But, says Juan Zarate, a former deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism under President George W. Bush: “If you listen to the instructions going out from a group like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the focus is on attacking in place” without waiting for instructions from the top.

What's North Korea's young leader up to?

So the saber rattling of 30-year-old Kim Jong-un is causing the United States to rattle back, saying on Friday that it will put $1 billion in new ballistic missile interceptors along the Pacific Coast.

And that's set off the sounds of China's sabers, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei saying on Monday, "Actions such as strengthening anti-missile (defenses) will intensify antagonism."

Kim is increasing his threats — including of a pre-emptive nuclear strike — because he hasn't been able to get the United States and South Korea to return to a pattern in which the North provoked and the allies responded with economic aid in return for Pyongyang’s promises to finally stop its nuclear weapons program, according to some analysts.

But a growing number of experts believe North Korea wants a nuclear arsenal as a deterrent against better-armed enemies and a way to get more concessions and maybe even international recognition.

Plans to let spy agencies scour Americans' finances

The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a database containing financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, Reuters reports, citing a Treasury Department document.

The proposed plan represents a major step by the intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence, Reuters says.

The plan, which legal experts say is permissible under U.S. law, is likely to draw intense criticism from privacy advocates.

The Pentagon's new teams to launch cyberattacks

Its Cyber Command will create 13 offensive teams by the fall of 2015 to help defend the country against major computer attacks from overseas, Gen. Keith Alexander told Congress on Tuesday, in what The Washington Post says is a rare acknowledgment of the military’s ability to use cyberweapons.

The nation's top spies told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the country is vulnerable to cyberespionage, cybercrime and outright destruction of computer networks, both from sophisticated, government-sponsored assault as well as criminal hacker groups and cyberterrorists.

It's hard to overemphasize its significance," said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. "These capabilities put all sectors of our country at risk — from government and private networks to critical infrastructures."

Drone strikes on American soil

Senators of both parties criticized Attorney General Eric Holder at a hearing Wednesday over secrecy surrounding the Justice Department's legal memos justifying drone strikes targeting American citizens and pushed him to say more about when the Obama administration believes it can use military force on U.S. soil.

The administration has allowed members of the Senate Intelligence Committee to see the memos as part of its effort to get John Brennan confirmed as CIA director.

Rand Paul's old-fashioned filibuster

The Kentucky Republican took to the Senate floor Wednesday morning and held it for nearly 13 hours, with help in his talkathon from 15 other senators.

Paul's filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to head the CIA focused on the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s use of drone strikes to target suspected terrorists.

“I have allowed the president to pick his appointees, but I will not sit quietly and let him shred the Constitution,” Paul said. “I cannot sit at my desk quietly and let the president say he will kill Americans on American soil who are not actively attacking the country."

Paul used the traditional filibuster mechanism because he was unsure whether he had enough senators to delay consideration of the nomination using the usual current delaying tactics, media report.

Manning explains why he WikiLeaked

The Army private charged in the biggest leak of classified material in U.S. history pleaded guilty Thursday to lesser charges and said he wanted the public to know how the American military was fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with little regard for human life.

His goal, Manning said, was "to make the world a better place." He said he thought the leaks "might be embarrassing" but wouldn't harm the country.

Manning said he initially approached The Washington Post and The New York Times, but the former didn't take him seriously and the latter didn't return his call.

After his guilty plea on 10 charges, Manning faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Manning's defense lawyers hope prosecutors will decide that's enough punishment and will dismiss the remaining 12 charges to avoid a public court-martial with 140 witnesses discussing a deeply embarrassing breakdown in the military's system for safeguarding classified information, says the Los Angeles Times.