WALL STREET JOURNAL: [Edward] Snowden and other private employees with permission to plug directly into National Security Agency systems have unprecedented access to highly sensitive information—the result of years of pressure to break down the walls dividing U.S. intelligence agencies and share information that might expose the next terror plot.
Thousands of workers employed by government contractors sit side by side with federal workers and hold security clearances that provide access to intelligence databases. The result is a system so enmeshed that government and contract workers are often indistinguishable…
Mr. Snowden’s release of documents describing top-secret NSA programs is likely to accelerate a push in Congress to reduce the role of private companies in U.S. spy agencies, officials said… (more)
