Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama justified the NSA’s spying programs, arguing they have helped to stabilize the world in the five years since he took office.

“As a result of this work, and the cooperation of its allies and partners, the world is more stable than it was five years ago,” the president said on Tuesday morning.


Nonetheless, Obama also told the audience that the United States would review its surveillance practices due to concerns raised by the international community. Prior to the president’s speech, in her own remarks, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff sharply criticized the U.S. program, calling it a “breach of international law” and “totally unacceptable.”