NSA having flashbacks to Watergate era

[Jesus Malverde]

The National Security Agency is facing its worst crisis since the domestic spying scandals four decades ago led to the first formal oversight and overhaul of U.S. intelligence operations.

Thanks to former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden's flood of leaks to the media, and the Obama administration's uneven response to them, morale at the spy agency responsible for intercepting communications of terrorists and foreign adversaries has plummeted, former officials say. Even sympathetic lawmakers are calling for new curbs on the NSA's powers.

"This is a secret intelligence agency that's now in the news every day," said Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA from 1999 to 2005 and later led the CIA. "Each day, the workforce wakes up and reads the daily indictment."

President Barack Obama acknowledged Friday that many Americans have lost trust in the nation's largest intelligence agency. "There's no doubt that, for all the work that's been done to protect the American people's privacy, the capabilities of the NSA are scary to people," he said in a CNN interview.

He added, "Between all the safeguards and checks that we put in place within the executive branch, and the federal court oversight that takes place on the program, and congressional oversight, people are still concerned as to whether their emails are being read or their phone calls are being listened to."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/25/200325/nsa-having-flashbacks-to-watergate.html#storylink=cpy