John McCain - NSA chief 'should resign or be fired'

John McCain says NSA chief Keith Alexander 'should resign or be fired'

Senator gives interview to Der Spiegel, saying general should 'be held accountable' for Edward Snowden leaks

Karen McVeigh in New York

Senator John McCain has called for Keith Alexander to "resign or be fired" as the head of the National Security Agency, in an interview with the German news weekly Der Spiegel published on Sunday.

The senator for Arizona, a former Republican presidential candidate, said Alexander should be held accountable for the leaks of thousands of documents by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, which revealedNSA 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."

President Barack Obama, the NSA and the congressional intelligence committee had responsibility for the sharing of classified information, he said.

Asked if Alexander should resign, McCain said: "Of course, he should resign, or be fired. We no longer hold anybody accountable in Washington."

Asked if the US intelligence services were out of control, McCain said: "There's not been sufficient congressional oversight, and there has been an absolutely disgraceful sharing of information that never should have taken place. For many years, we had an absolute provision that any classified information, which was going to be shared, is based on need-to-know information."

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/10/john-mccain-nsa-keith-alexander-snowden