NSA Head Admits “Sky Isn’t Falling” Because of Snowden-related Leaks
The new Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), Michael Rogers, admitted in an interview with the New York Times on this day that the alleged damage resulting from the leaks based on NSA documents stolen and released by Edward Snowden was very limited.
Rogers denied that “the sky is falling” as a result of the leaks.
News media stories based on the Snowden-related documents began appearing on June 5, 2013, and continued steadily for the next year. Snowden was a former contract employee with the NSA.
After the first stories began to appear, government officials at many levels alleged that the leaks had severely damaged U.S. national security. See, for example, the claim made by the previous NSA Director on March 5, 2014.
For other events related to revelations based on the Snowden documents, see June 6, 2013; August 15, 2013; October 23, 2013; December 16, 2013.
The 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service was awarded to the Guardian US and the Washington Post on April 14, 2014 for their stories on National Security Agency (NSA) spying based on documents leaked to them by Edward Snowden. On February 16, 2014, reporters also won the prestigious George Polk Award for Excellence in Journalism for their stories based on the Snowden-released documents.
Learn more: Luke Harding, The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man (2014)
Watch the acclaimed film about Snowden: Citizenfour (2014)
Learn more about the NSA from the foremost expert: James Bamford, The Puzzle Palace (1982); The Shadow Factory (2008)
Read about the spying under President Bush: Eric Lichblau, Bush’s Law: The Remaking of American Justice (2008)Learn more about the national security industry: Dana Priest and William Arkin, Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State (2012)