In his first congressional testimony since disclosure of the secretive programs, the director of the National Security Agency gave a forceful defense of spy operations that have stirred fears of government snooping and violations of privacy rights, the Associated Press reported.
Army General Keith Alexander offered few details on Wednesday about the disputed terror plots but asserted that the two government programs were imperative in thwarting terrorism.
"I do think it's important that we get this right and I want the American people to know that we're trying to be transparent here, protect civil liberties and privacy but also the security of this country," Alexander told a Senate panel.
The director of national intelligence declassified some details on two thwarted attacks, including Najibullah Zazi's foiled plot to bomb the New York subways and David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American who used his U.S. passport to travel frequently to India where he allegedly scouted out venues for terror attacks on behalf of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization.
"I do think it's important that we get this right and I want the American people to know we're trying to be transparent here, protect civil liberties and privacy but also the security of this country," Alexander added.
he director was questioned at length by senators seeking information on exactly how much data the NSA gathers through programs to collect millions of telephone records and keep tabs on Internet activity as well as the legal backing for the activities, the Associated Press added.
New York Representative Peter King, who has been calling for leak journalists to be punished in light of the NSA scandal, also called for legal action against the Guardian reporter who broke the story, Glenn Greenwald.
"Not only did he disclose this information. He has said that he has the names of CIA agents and assets around the world and threatening to disclose that. The last time that was done in this country, we saw a CIA station chief murdered in Greece," the New York Republican told Fox News's Megyn Kelly on Wednesday. "Legal action should be taken against him. This is a very unusual case with life and death implications for Americans.
"No right is absolute and even the press has certain restrictions. I think it should be very targeted, very selective and certainly a very rare exception, but in this case when you have someone who has disclosed secrets like this and threatens to release more ... that to me is a direct attack against Americans," he said.
"Obviously, freedom of the press has to be cherished in this country, but in this case where some people are glorifying Snowden, making him a hero and now acting as if Greenwald was acting as a legitimate journalist ... It clearly violates U.S. code, which talks about releasing classified information."
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