The data that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden's holds could, if released, lead to deaths, the agency's outgoing director says.

Gen. Keith Alexander said in an interview aired Tuesday on "Special Report with Bret Baier" that the possibility that more information coming from Snowden could cost people their lives represents his "greatest concern."

"Do you know what he has?" host Baier asked the general.

"We have a good assessment of what he has, yes," Alexander said.

"And is there a lot more damaging to come?"

"Yes, especially to our military operations and those who are serving overseas," Alexander replied.

Alexander said he was "hugely disappointed" when he learned that Snowden, who was entrusted with sensitive information, began leaking NSA data last summer.

"I think this will haunt him for the rest of his life," Alexander said. "Here's a young guy who made some huge mistakes."

When asked what he would do with Snowden were he granted 15 minutes alone with him, Alexander said he wouldn't attack the former analyst, but instead might reveal to him the damage he's caused the agency, "so he knows the damage -- the significant damage to our nation and to our allies."

Alexander also said the reforms pushed by President Obama, which would require the NSA to prove more direct links from terrorists before acquiring data from telephone companies, are sensible.

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NSA director says future Snowden leaks could lead to deaths- Krauthammer: End to NSA's bulk data collection 'a ...

Nine months after the world learned his name, Edward Snowden and his leaks made their biggest splash yet in the capital Tuesday.

NSA reform efforts as a result of his surveillance revelations moved closer to reality as reports surfaced of a coalescing White House plan to end the governments bulk collection of American phone records. Neither that proposal nor a competing effort from the House Intelligence Committee have moved forward legislatively, and it will take time to see what, if anything, sticks. But their existence alone indicates that a major shift to the most controversial program revealed by Snowden could eventually be a reality.

This is a turning point, and it marks the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the NSA and restore the publics seat at the table of government, Snowden himself said in a statement.

A White House proposal, which remains under wraps, and a House bill would put in place a new system whereby phone companies hold records instead of the NSA. Neither proposal is perfect, privacy backers said, but the lack of new rules that require phone companies to retain data for longer than they do now is critical. Such language would have been panned by the telecommunications industry and civil liberties groups alike.

Its definitely a touchdown for privacy advocates, said Kevin Bankston, policy director at the New America Foundations Open Technology Institute. But were still in the first quarter of the game.

The developments, while unfinished, follow a roller coaster ride of reform efforts over the past year. The revelations united liberal Democrats and conservative libertarians in opposition to what they saw as broad government overreach and a violation of privacy but the drip-drip of stories about NSA activity was unable to carry a symbolic vote in the House last July to curb NSA funding.

But privacy groups now feel closer to real action. President Barack Obama committed to ending bulk phone data collection during a January speech, and his own intelligence review group declared the need for reform in December. This weeks proposal in which Obama said he is confident is formally due Friday and will suggest how to practically implement the changes.

We never had any real information about how these programs were used until now, ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson said. Reform efforts were stymied by a lack of information. The Snowden leaks really dislodged those efforts.

That doesnt mean the dual proposals come without questions. Bankston said one big problem is that the administration plan treats only the symptoms of the intelligence overreach exposed by Snowden because it leaves open the possibility for other kinds of bulk data collection by the government.

And the House bill, backed by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), would allow intelligence agencies to get data without first getting the go-ahead from a court a separate concern raised by some, including the Center for Democracy & Technology.

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Snowden effect: Reforms proposed

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks via videoconference at 'Why Didn't a Tech Journalist Break PRISM?' during the 2014 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival on March 10, 2014 in Austin, Texas.

Image: Tammy Perez/Getty Images

By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2014-03-25 21:58:23 UTC

U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal to end the NSA's bulk collection of telephone records has gathered one noteworthy endorser: Edward Snowden.

The whistleblower who leaked top-secret documents exposing NSA surveillance programs released a statement on Tuesday, just after Obama announced plans to end the controversial program that enables the agency to collect Americans' phone records and retain them for five years. For Snowden, Obama's plans are a "turning point" that mark "the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the NSA, and restore the public's seat at the table of government."

"President Obama has now confirmed that these mass surveillance programs, kept secret from the public and defended out of reflex rather than reason, are in fact unnecessary and should be ended," Snowden wrote in a statement published through the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents and advises him.

Here's Snowden's full statement:

I believed that if the NSA's unconstitutional mass surveillance of Americans was known, it would not survive the scrutiny of the courts, the Congress, and the people.

The very first open and adversarial court to ever judge these programs has now declared them 'Orwellian' and 'likely unconstitutional.' In the USA FREEDOM Act, Congress is considering historic, albeit incomplete reforms. And President Obama has now confirmed that these mass surveillance programs, kept secret from the public and defended out of reflex rather than reason, are in fact unnecessary and should be ended.

This is a turning point, and it marks the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the NSA and restore the public's seat at the table of government.

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Snowden: Obama's NSA Reform Proposal Is a 'Turning Point'