US military operations overseas rely heavily on intelligence gathered about war zones by the National Security Agency, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says.
The Obama administrationâ„¢s plan to reform some aspects of the NSAâ„¢s surveillance programs might end up doing more harm than good to US military commanders who are “the biggest users and consumers” of that intelligence, Hagel said on Thursday.
“What I do not want to see here is a gap” in the intelligence flow from the NSA down to American units on the ground, at sea and in the air, Hagel told reporters at the Pentagon.
The Pentagon is reviewing 46 proposals by a White House-mandated NSA review panel, designed to reform the agency’s domestic intelligence operations.
“We better think hard about” these proposals, Hagel added.
President Barack Obama appointed the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology in August in response to an international and domestic backlash against widespread US surveillance programs.
The spying operations have been exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Hagel’s primary concern is the recommendation that calls for the separation of the NSA’s civilian intelligence activities and military intelligence operations carried out by the US Cyber Command.
On Monday, US District Judge Richard Leon ruled that NSA mass collection program is Å“almost Orwellian” and “almost certainly” violates the US Constitution.
AHT/HJ
With permission
Source: Press TV