When I saw this headline, I thought “Oh, cool, McCain thinks the NSA has over-stepped its bounds” and was excited. Then I read this:
The senator for Arizona, a former Republican presidential candidate, said [head of the NSA Keith] Alexander should be held accountable for the leaks of thousands of documents by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, which revealed NSA surveillance and spying on a massive scale. McCain said Snowden, who worked for the NSA as a contractor, should never have had access to classified information.
“And now we have a contractor employee, not a government employee, who has access to information which is, when revealed, most damaging to the standing prestige of the United States and our relations with some of our best friends,” McCain said. “Why did Edward Snowden have that information? And what are we doing as far as screening people who have access to this information? It’s outrageous, and someone ought to be held accountable.”
According to the Senator, Alexander should be canned for the access Edward Snowden gained while a contractor, not for the things Snowden’s reported on that have made the world more aware of how the NSA works. I guess it was foolish to be hopeful for anything different.
Update: According to The Atlantic, the Senator has backed away from his statement. So, that’s cool, I guess. Wait.