Snowden has "keys to kingdom," says NSA official

WASHINGTON Edward Snowden "stole the keys to the kingdom" when he took more than 1.5 million secret files, National Security Agency (NSA) official Rick Ledgett said. Ledgett, who heads the NSA taskforce in charge of assessing the impact of Snowden's leaks, told CBS that the former NSA contractor possessed a "roadmap" of the U.S. intelligence community's strengths and weaknesses. Snowden has "keys to kingdom," says NSA official Ledgett warned that some 31,000 documents were "of particular concern", and said they were "an exhaustive list of the requirements that have been levied against the National Security Agency." "What that gives is, what topics we're interested in, where our gaps are. Additional information about U.S. capabilities and U.S. gaps is provided as part of that." "The information could potentially offer a rival nation a roadmap of what we know, what we don't know, and give them, implicitly, a way to protect their information from the U.S. intelligence community's view," said the NSA official. Ledgett said he would be open to the possibility of an amnesty for Snowden if he agreed to stop further leaks of classified information. But NSA chief General Keith Alexander "rejected the idea of any amnesty for Snowden." "This is analogous to a hostage-taker taking 50 people hostage, shooting 10 and then say 'You give me full amnesty and I'll let the other 40 go,'" he was quoted as saying. Alexander also said that "suggestions the agency was routinely eavesdropping on the phone calls of Americans was false," insisting that less than 60 "U.S. persons" were currently being targeted worldwide. Edward Snowden (Beta/AP, file) AFP Tanjug

Snowden has "keys to kingdom," says NSA official

Ledgett warned that some 31,000 documents were "of particular concern", and said they were "an exhaustive list of the requirements that have been levied against the National Security Agency."

"What that gives is, what topics we're interested in, where our gaps are. Additional information about U.S. capabilities and U.S. gaps is provided as part of that."

"The information could potentially offer a rival nation a roadmap of what we know, what we don't know, and give them, implicitly, a way to protect their information from the U.S. intelligence community's view," said the NSA official.

Ledgett said he would be open to the possibility of an amnesty for Snowden if he agreed to stop further leaks of classified information.

But NSA chief General Keith Alexander "rejected the idea of any amnesty for Snowden."

"This is analogous to a hostage-taker taking 50 people hostage, shooting 10 and then say 'You give me full amnesty and I'll let the other 40 go,'" he was quoted as saying.

Alexander also said that "suggestions the agency was routinely eavesdropping on the phone calls of Americans was false," insisting that less than 60 "U.S. persons" were currently being targeted worldwide.