National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander said Tuesday that Edward Snowden’s leaks “will haunt him for the rest of his life.”
In an interview on Fox News’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Alexander was asked what he would do if he had 15 minutes alone in a room with Snowden.
“Well, I’m not a violent person, and I’m not going to try to beat him up or anything,” he said. “I think I would express my huge disappointment. I may tell him some of the classified things he’s caused so he knows the damage, the significant damage to our nation and to our allies. I think this will haunt him for the rest of his life.”
Alexander said the NSA has “a good assessment” of the documents Snowden stole.
{mosads}Asked if he could do more damage, Alexander said, “Yes, especially to our military operations and those who are serving overseas.”
Snowden has been living in Russia since he was granted temporary asylum last August. Last June, he exposed the NSA’s telephone metadata program.
On Tuesday, President Obama announced a proposal to remove American phone records from the government and allow phone companies to retain them.
“I think this was the best solution that we could come up with,” said Alexander, who will soon step down from his post.
The intelligence community, he said, will still have to ensure it has the agility to handle crises under the plan, but added that’s “doable.”
“This is an approach that I think meets the intent of protecting our civil liberties and privacy and the security of this country.”