The person who replaces Gen. Keith Alexander as...

The person who replaces Gen. Keith Alexander as National Security Agency director will also be commander of U.S. Cyber Command, the White House said Friday. “Following a thorough interagency review, the Administration has decided that keeping the positions of NSA director and Cyber Command commander together as one, dual-hatted position is the most effective approach to accomplishing both agencies’ missions,” a White House spokeswoman said in a statement. Alexander had lobbied for the same person to hold both positions. The head of U.S. Cyber Command must be in the military, but some critics have argued that a civilian should lead the NSA to provide more sensitivity on civil liberties issues after the leaks about controversial NSA surveillance programs. Retaining control of U.S. Cyber Command in the hands of the NSA director will also ensure NSA’s continued “unique role” in supporting U.S. Cyber Command through “critical support for target access and development, including linguists, analysts, cryptanalytic capabilities, and sophisticated technological infrastructure,” the White House spokeswoman said. “These capabilities are essential in enabling [Department of Defense] cyberspace operations planning and execution."