NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By KIMBERLY DOZIER

WASHINGTON (AP) - The director of the National Security Agency said Tuesday the government's sweeping surveillance programs have foiled some 50 terrorist plots worldwide, including one directed at the New York Stock Exchange, in a forceful defense of the spy operations.

Army Gen. Keith Alexander said the two recently disclosed programs - one that gathers U.S. phone records and another that is designed to track the use of U.S.-based Internet servers by foreigners with possible links to terrorism - are critical in the terrorism fight.

Alexander, seated side by side with top officials from the FBI and Justice Department at a rare, open congressional hearing, described how the operations work under questioning from members of the House Intelligence Committee who displayed a supportive demeanor. The officials as well as members of the panel repeatedly bemoaned the leaks by Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former contractor.

Alexander said Snowden's leaks have caused "irreversible and significant damage to this nation" that also undermined the U.S. relationship with its allies.

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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130618/DA7095E00.html

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From left, Deputy Attorney General James Cole; National Security Agency (NSA) Deputy Director Chris Inglis; NSA Director Gen. Keith B. Alexander; Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce; and Robert Litt, general counsel to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing regarding NSA surveillance. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)