Snowden Isn't Exactly a "Traitor," Says the Top Nominee for NSA Director

In stark contrast to Edward Snowden's appearance yesterday in front of an SXSW crowd, Vice Admiral Michael Rogers, the man likely to take over the helm of the National Security Agency, today testified in front of the Senate armed services committee to talk about his vision for the future of US cyber defense.

But he wasn't actually there to represent the NSA. Michael was also nominated to be the head Cyber Command, a wing of the US military tasked with cyber warfare and which liaises with the NSA. Concerning the NSA's activities, he didn't answer all of the committee's questions, as it was a public hearing, but the conversation touched on privacy, government transparency and, of course, Snowden.

When it came to increasing the US' cyber war capabilities, Rogers was, unsurprisingly, keen to improve training for young recruits, and investing more in “cyber warriors," the reason being that “it's only a matter of time […] before we start to see more destructive activity” from digital attacks.

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), after making it clear that he does not like “obfuscation," asked if Rogers thought that the secret FISA court was providing enough oversight to the NSA. “Yes” he replied, but later added that he is open to “potential options to improve that transparency.” Echoing President Obama in January, Rogers said that he “welcomes a dialogue” around the balance between agency transparency and national security, although that dialogue wasn't tackled with any depth today.

Interestingly, when asked about the role private companies have with the NSA, Rogers said it was important to ask whether “we are comfortable” with the role of contractors. Remember that Snowden was an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, and before that Dell. The NSA and the intelligence community at large use of private contractors is an often overlooked issue, and when I spoke to former Booz Allen and NSA employee Thomas Drake last month, he highlighted issues of oversight, accountability and financial waste.

However, despite Rogers' comments, it is unlikely that any change to this deep relationship will come about: Since 9/11, private contractors and the NSA have become so intertwined that it is difficult to differentiate between them. Rogers said that “core operational functions need to be [carried out by] government.” But non-core functions, like communications infrastructure that isn't mission critical, has already been farmed out to contractors, and presumably will continue to be.

Switching to Snowden, Rogers assured the Senate that the investigation into his leaks was “in depth” and “ongoing," and when pressed repeatedly about whether Snowden's actions have potentially put American lives at risk, Rogers unequivocally replied “Yes."

In what seemed like a well-thought-out comment, Rogers said that “I don't know that I would use the word traitor, but I certainly don't consider him a hero.” Rogers' reluctance to use a word favored by some Congressmen and former NSA Director Michael Hayden suggests that Rogers would like to avoid officially charging Snowden with treason, which would assuredly shut the door on his return to the US.

Even though Rogers hasn't yet been involved with the discussion about alternatives for the NSA phone data program, he said that he felt that alternatives could work. However, until he is able to elaborate on what these alternatives may be, this comment isn't particularly useful. And when asked about whether the Fourth Amendment runs counter to these programs, he refused to answer, citing that he wasn't a lawyer.

So what have we learned about the possible future head of the NSA? Well, apart from his refusal to label Snowden a traitor, nothing surprising. He was supportive of the NSA's mass surveillance phone programs, and predictably pointed out the potential that if they were implemented before September 2001, that the tragedy of 9/11 could have been averted.

Whether these comments on the balance of privacy and national security, and flirtations with more transparency are sincere or just empty rhetoric, we will have to see. But Rogers' insistence on the importance of digital warfare and his soon to be position as head of both Cyber Command and the NSA—organizations that are are very “intertwined and related” according to him—it doesn't appear the NSA mission is going to radically change.