BLUF: The America We Know and Love

The recent signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at Versailles, supposedly marking the end of hostilities between the United States and Iran, is the next step toward greater stability in a complex global environment. But vigilance is just as important during peacetime as it is in times of conflict. 

Since last week, America's intelligence community (IC) has been operating without Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 – one of its cornerstone legal authorities. 

Section 702, established in 2008, has supported a wide range of foreign intelligence efforts, including helping track fentanyl precursor supply chains from overseas sources and identifying foreign ransomware threats targeting U.S. infrastructure. 702 enables faster warnings and mitigation providing insights into the activities of adversarial nation-state actors. 

While court-approved certifications allow existing surveillance efforts to continue into early 2027, the lapse has introduced some practical uncertainty for intelligence operations. According to public reporting, intelligence gathered from the authority now constitutes more than 60% of the President's daily intelligence briefing. 

As lawmakers return from recess, there is hope for timely and thoughtful resolution of both the surveillance authority and the ongoing leadership transition in the intelligence community. Addressing them effectively in the weeks ahead would strengthen our national security posture, and could be quite a meaningful 250th birthday present to the nation.

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