From left, Chris Inglis, a deputy United States Attorney General; General Keith B. Alexander, the National Security Agency director; James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, and Deputy United States Attorney General James Cole appeared before the House Select Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — Top intelligence officials defended their operations before a House committee on Tuesday as they faced growing criticism and calls for a Congressional review of the nation’s surveillance efforts.
“To be sure, on occasion we have made mistakes,” said James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, though he attributed most of them to human error.
He and Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency, said members of the intelligence community were also American citizens who were determined to protect privacy while identifying national security threats.
Mr. Clapper also said the intelligence agencies would work with Congress to address any concerns.
The House Intelligence Committee hearing took place as key Congressional Republicans and Democrats expressed misgivings in the wake of a report that the N.S.A. had targeted Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany for surveillance for several years.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and one of the fiercest defenders of American surveillance operations, said Monday that she did “not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers.”
Ms. Feinstein said her committee would be conducting a “major review” of the intelligence programs.
According to administration and Congressional officials, the White House has told Ms. Feinstein that President Obama is poised to order the N.S.A. to stop eavesdropping on the leaders of American allies. On Tuesday, another supporter of the N.S.A., Speaker John A. Boehner, raised questions about its programs.
“I don’t think there’s any question that there needs to be review, there ought to be review, and it ought to be thorough,” he said. “We’ve got obligations to the American people to keep them safe. We’ve got obligations to our allies around the world.”
“But having said that, we’ve got to find the right balance here,” he added. “And clearly, there’s — we’re imbalanced as we stand here.”
Shortly before the hearing began, protesters holding pink signs chastised Mr. Clapper and General Alexander, demanding they apologize to Ms. Merkel.
“It’s counterproductive to spy on our own allies, let alone our own citizens,” one of the protesters said. The House committee chairman, Representative Mike Rogers, had one of the protesters removed a few minutes later.
