How do those "in the know" refer to the National Security Agency?
Easy. They interpret the acronym NSA to actually mean "No Such Agency". One reason for that might be the fact that for years, their existence was denied. What do they really do there and when did they start doing it? It is an interesting story.
Their origins can be found in the efforts at code-breaking during World War II. Their initial mission was, like everything else that has something to do with the military, described in an acronym. In this case, COMINT, which means Communications Intelligence. HUMINT is Human Intelligence, SIGINT is Signals Intelligence and ELINT is Electronic Intelligence. I know, there's overlap.
When the war began, the Army and Navy rivalry in the area of code-breaking continued. It wasn't just that they didn't share information. They wanted nothing to do with one another. It was only when the war was winding down and the two "communities" realized that they would be reduced in size; that talk of merger and cooperation began.
In 1947, Congress approved and President Truman signed "The National Security Act". This created the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. This gave the new CIA (previously known as the OSS) independence from the military. It also created the Air Force as a separate branch of military service (it had been the Army Air Corps until 9/18/47) and this actually intensified the competition for cryptological and COMINT resources and missions.
In October of 1952, President Truman revised something known as National Security Council Intelligence Directive 9 (NSCID9). This in effect created the NSA. Their charter, by law, is supposed to be limited to foreign communications.
Obviously that's not the case. The NSA is run by a military officer. The four-star Army general in charge at the moment has been in his job since 2005. He was promoted to four-stars during his tenure in the job, which means that the Senate confirmed (approved) that promotion.
This officer, General Keith B. Alexander lied to the American public. He was asked by the media if the NSA's new facility in Utah was being used to hold data on American citizens he said "no". We know now that this is not true.
Does the NSA do the kinds of things that we've been shown in the movies, like "Enemy of the State", "Mercury Rising" and "Die Another Day" (Halle Berry's character was supposedly an NSA agent)? Probably not. That's the province of the CIA. The NSA is filled with people who gather and analyze information. They, for the most part, don't get their hands dirty collecting it.
Want to know more? There are several books by James Bamford, beginning with "The Puzzle Palace" which I first read in the 1980s, right up through "The NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America", which was published in 2009. Or read his most recent column on the NSA. http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/10/bamford-nsa-idINL2N0EM0SG20130610
But know this. They aren't just joking anymore about "In God We Trust, all others we monitor". That used to be limited to those outside our borders, and then only in cases where there was at least some probable cause to suspect. Now we're all on their radar.
Their origins can be found in the efforts at code-breaking during World War II. Their initial mission was, like everything else that has something to do with the military, described in an acronym. In this case, COMINT, which means Communications Intelligence. HUMINT is Human Intelligence, SIGINT is Signals Intelligence and ELINT is Electronic Intelligence. I know, there's overlap.
When the war began, the Army and Navy rivalry in the area of code-breaking continued. It wasn't just that they didn't share information. They wanted nothing to do with one another. It was only when the war was winding down and the two "communities" realized that they would be reduced in size; that talk of merger and cooperation began.
In 1947, Congress approved and President Truman signed "The National Security Act". This created the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. This gave the new CIA (previously known as the OSS) independence from the military. It also created the Air Force as a separate branch of military service (it had been the Army Air Corps until 9/18/47) and this actually intensified the competition for cryptological and COMINT resources and missions.
In October of 1952, President Truman revised something known as National Security Council Intelligence Directive 9 (NSCID9). This in effect created the NSA. Their charter, by law, is supposed to be limited to foreign communications.
Obviously that's not the case. The NSA is run by a military officer. The four-star Army general in charge at the moment has been in his job since 2005. He was promoted to four-stars during his tenure in the job, which means that the Senate confirmed (approved) that promotion.
This officer, General Keith B. Alexander lied to the American public. He was asked by the media if the NSA's new facility in Utah was being used to hold data on American citizens he said "no". We know now that this is not true.
Does the NSA do the kinds of things that we've been shown in the movies, like "Enemy of the State", "Mercury Rising" and "Die Another Day" (Halle Berry's character was supposedly an NSA agent)? Probably not. That's the province of the CIA. The NSA is filled with people who gather and analyze information. They, for the most part, don't get their hands dirty collecting it.
Want to know more? There are several books by James Bamford, beginning with "The Puzzle Palace" which I first read in the 1980s, right up through "The NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America", which was published in 2009. Or read his most recent column on the NSA. http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/10/bamford-nsa-idINL2N0EM0SG20130610
But know this. They aren't just joking anymore about "In God We Trust, all others we monitor". That used to be limited to those outside our borders, and then only in cases where there was at least some probable cause to suspect. Now we're all on their radar.
posted by me at 12:37 PM
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