NSA Dir Keith Alexander ties himself in knots over proposed NSA reforms

Ask yourself one question as you wade into this tremendously awkward interview of NSA Director Keith Alexander, “If metadata is so harmless–‘just numbers,’ as he says–why does the NSA want it so badly?” To top it all off, we learn that the Director is “disheartened,” by Sen. Rand Paul speaking critically of his agency. All this on the day when President Obama claims he plans to halt the collection of metadata. You laugh, but remember…these people actually run things.

UPDATED: FULL AWKWARD VIDEO

Of course, everyone who has taken the trouble to research metadata knows it’s viewed as more valuable than content by marketing companies (and intelligence services) because metadata establishes patterns of behavior; what you buy, where you travel, who you talk to and more. Recent reports still indicate that the NSA’s metadata collection has led to zero terrorism cases being thwarted.

Watch and read Sen. Rand Paul and Edward Snowden’s reaction to the president’s proposal to ‘end metadata collection’ here.