Should the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command be split up after Keith Alexander steps down?
National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander pauses while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, before the Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
The head of U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA, Gen. Keith Alexander, intends to retire, Reuters is reporting.
It doesn't appear that he's being forced out over this year's domestic surveillance controversy. Alexander's voluntary plans were first reported by Wired back in June. But news that the intelligence official has finalized his departure means that President Obama faces a choice: Will Alexander's successor have control over both the NSA and Cyber Command, or should he appoint two separate officials to manage each agency?
Documents reveal NSA’s extensive involvement in targeted killing program
It was an innocuous e-mail, one of millions sent every day by spouses with updates on the situation at home. But this one was of particular interest to the National Security Agency and contained clues that put the sender’s husband in the crosshairs of a CIA drone.
Days later, Hassan Ghul — an associate of Osama bin Laden who provided a critical piece of intelligence that helped the CIA find the al-Qaeda leader — was killed by a drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal belt.
