Gen. Keith Alexander told Congress Wednesday that the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone and Internet records is essential to protect America. “The threats are growing,” he said. Then Alexander likened metadata collection to an old-school library’s index card system. “Metadata is a way of knowing where those books are in the library … and where are the bad books.” As for stopping the next Edward Snowden, the general said no one person will be allowed to do the leaker’s old job alone. Finally, he told skeptical lawmakers: “This agency in every case reports on itself, tells you what we did wrong and does everything we can to correct it.”
