http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ivan-eland/intelligence-chiefs-histr_b_4717636.html

Ivan Eland Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty, The Independent Institute

Intelligence Chief's Histrionics Hide Downgrade in Terrorist Threat

02/04/2014

Lieutenant General James R. Clapper, Jr., the Director of National Intelligence, recently gave testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on his annual assessment of the threats facing the United States. What little attention was paid by the media -- always seeking drama and conflict to get more viewers and readers in order to increase advertising revenues -- to the annual ritual focused on Clapper's vitriolic attack on Edward J. Snowden, the National Security Agency (NSA) contractor. Snowden believed NSA's electronic snooping programs went too far and therefore gave a treasure trove of documents to media outlets about the snooping. Clapper accused him of doing grave damage to the nation's security through such disclosures, because terrorist groups have allegedly changed their behavior to avoid U.S. spying.