Difference between revisions of "National Security Agency"

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The U.S. '''National Security Agency''' (NSA),  established by a memorandum dated October 24, 1952, by President [[Harry S. Truman]], is "the organization within the U.S. Government responsible for communications intelligence (COMINT) activities." [http://jya.com/nsa102452.htm]  
 
The U.S. '''National Security Agency''' (NSA),  established by a memorandum dated October 24, 1952, by President [[Harry S. Truman]], is "the organization within the U.S. Government responsible for communications intelligence (COMINT) activities." [http://jya.com/nsa102452.htm]  
  
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==June, 2013, Revelations by Glenn Greenwald Based on Edward Snowden's Whistleblowing==
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==Bush's Domestic Spies==
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[[Glenn Greenwald]] and his reporting [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance dominated the news] in June 2013 when he reported in the Guardian information provided to him by [[Edward Snowden]] exposing massive, secret, global spying via NSA acquisition of online data on hundreds of millions of people around the world.
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Only months after the events of [[September 11, 2001]], President [[George W. Bush]] signed a presidential order in 2002 which "secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of [[terrorist]] activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials," James Risen and Eric Lichtblau [http://nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?ei=5094&en=c7596fe0d4798785&hp=&ex=1134795600&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print reported] in the December 16, 2005, ''New York Times''.
 
  
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The NSA "has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible 'dirty numbers' linked to [[Al Qaeda]], the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications." [http://nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?ei=5094&en=c7596fe0d4798785&hp=&ex=1134795600&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print]
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==[[George W. Bush's domestic spying]]==
  
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"While many details about the program remain secret, officials familiar with it say the N.S.A. eavesdrops without warrants on up to 500 people in the United States at any given time. The list changes as some names are added and others dropped, so the number monitored in this country may have reached into the thousands since the program began, several officials said. Overseas, about 5,000 to 7,000 people suspected of terrorist ties are monitored at one time, according to those officials." [http://nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?ei=5094&en=c7596fe0d4798785&hp=&ex=1134795600&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print]
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==NSA "cookies"==
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The NSA had been placing files called "cookies" on visitors' computers to track internet surfing activity "despite strict federal rules banning most of them," the Associated Press's Anick Jesdanun [http://www.businessweek.com/ap/tech/D8EPN03G2.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_down&chan=tc reported] December 29, 2005. Following a privacy activist's complaint, the NSA acknowledged a mistake but "the issue raises questions about privacy at a spy agency already on the defensive amid reports of a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States."
  
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"The NSA activities were justified by a classified Justice Department legal opinion authored by [[John C. Yoo]], a former deputy in the [[Office of Legal Counsel]] who argued that congressional approval of the war on al Qaeda gave broad authority to the president, according to the Times," Dan Eggen [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600021_pf.html wrote] in the December 16, 2005, ''Washington Post''.
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"Until Tuesday [December 17th], the NSA site created two cookies that do not expire until 2035--likely beyond the life of any computer in use today," Jesdanun wrote.
  
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"That legal argument was similar to another 2002 memo authored primarily by Yoo, which outlined an extremely narrow definition of torture. That opinion, which was signed by another Justice official, was formally disavowed after it was disclosed by the Washington Post," Eggen wrote.
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'''Also see:'''<br>
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*[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/28/tech/main1168895.shtml "NSA Web Site Uses Banned 'Cookies',"] Associated Press (CBS News), December 28, 2005: "A senior official must sign off on any such use, and an agency that uses them must disclose and detail their use in its privacy policy."
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===Related Links===
 
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*James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, [http://nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?ei=5094&en=c7596fe0d4798785&hp=&ex=1134795600&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts,"] ''New York Times'', December 16, 2005; ([http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1216-01.htm ''Common Dreams'']).
 
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*Dan Eggen, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600021_pf.html "Bush Authorized Domestic Spying. Post-9/11 Order Bypassed Special Court,"] ''Washington Post'', December 16, 2005.
 
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*[[Larry Johnson]], [http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/12/16/142620/20 "Spying on Americans and John Bolton,"] ''TPM Cafe'', December 16, 2005: "During the confirmation hearings of [[John Bolton]] as the U.S. representative to the [[United Nations]], it came to light that the NSA had freely revealed intercepted conversations of U.S. citizens to Bolton while he served at the [[State Department]]. ... More generally, Newsweek reports that from January 2004 to May 2005, the NSA supplied intercepts and names of 10,000 U.S. citizens to policy-makers at many departments, other U.S. intelligence services, and law enforcement agencies." 
 
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*Larry Abramson, [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5056518 "Bush Said to Approve Post-Sept. 11 Eavesdropping,"] [[NPR]], December 16, 2005.
 
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*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5056871 "Domestic Spying and a Delayed Report,"] NPR, December 16, 2005.
 
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*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5056874 "Politics with Juan Williams: Spying and the Patriot Act,"] NPR, December 16, 2005.
 
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*jesselee, [http://www.dccc.org/stakeholder/archives/004073.html "George Miller on Domestic Spying,"] ''The Stakeholder'', December 16, 2005.
 
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*Morton H. Halperin, [http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=1306495 "President Bush and Domestic Spying by NSA,"] [[Center for American Progress]], December 16, 2005.
 
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*Will Bunch, [http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002576.html "The Big Stall: How Bush gamed the media to get re-elected in 2004,"] ''Attytood'', December 16, 2005.
 
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*Rob, [http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/action-alerts-tell-congress-to-kill.html "Action Alerts: Tell Congress to kill the Patriot Act until we get answers about Bush's illegal domestic spying,"] [[AMERICAblog]], December 16, 2005.
 
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*John Aravosis, [http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/if-bush-thought-eavesdropping-laws.html "If Bush thought eavesdropping laws were too onerous post 9/11, he was required to ask Congress to CHANGE THE LAW, not just violate it for 3 years,"] AMERICAblog, December 16, 2005.
 
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*Hilzoy, [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_12/007789.php " ... This is against the law,"] ''Washington Monthly'', December 16, 2005.
 
  
 
==NSA Overview==
 
==NSA Overview==
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==Contact Information==
 
==Contact Information==
 
Website: http://www.nsa.gov/  
 
Website: http://www.nsa.gov/  
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*Director: Lieutenant General [[Michael V. Hayden]]
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==Leadership==
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*Director, National Security Agency Chief, Central Security Service: [http://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/bio_alexander.shtml Keith B. Alexander], General, U.S. Army
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*Deputy Director, National Security Agency: [http://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/bio_inglis.shtml Mr. John C. (Chris) Inglis] <ref>National Security Administration, [http://www.nsa.gov/about/leadership/index.shtml NSA Leadership], nsa.gov, Accessed June 19, 2013.</ref>
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*Former Director: Lieutenant General [[Michael V. Hayden]]
  
 
== SourceWatch Resources ==
 
== SourceWatch Resources ==
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*[[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act]]
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*[[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]]
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*[[Internet surveillance]]
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*[[U.S. Department of Justice]]
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*[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]
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*[[Electronic Privacy Information Center]]
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*[[House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]]
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*[[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]]
 
*[[Central Intelligence Agency]]
 
*[[Central Intelligence Agency]]
 
*[[Department of Homeland Security]]
 
*[[Department of Homeland Security]]
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*[[domestic spying]]
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*[[James R. Clapper, Jr.]]
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*[[Michael V. Hayden]]
 
*[[homeland defense]]
 
*[[homeland defense]]
 
*[[homeland security]]
 
*[[homeland security]]
 
*[[National Security Council]]
 
*[[National Security Council]]
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*[[Narus]]
 
*[[Operations Coordinating Board]]
 
*[[Operations Coordinating Board]]
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*[[Russell Tice]]
 
*[[psyops]]
 
*[[psyops]]
  
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== External Links ==
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== External links ==
 
===Profiles===
 
===Profiles===
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*[http://www.theguardian.com/world/the-nsa-files ''The Guardian'': The NSA Files.]
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency Wikipedia]: National Security Agency.
 
*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency Wikipedia]: National Security Agency.
 
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/fighters/nsa.shtml BBC Profile of National Security Agency].
 
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/fighters/nsa.shtml BBC Profile of National Security Agency].
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*[http://www.totse.com/en/politics/national_security_agency/ National Security Agency]: "The largest and most secret of the intelligence agencies of the U.S. government, the National Security Agency (NSA), with headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland, has two main functions: to protect U.S. government communications and to intercept foreign communications."
 
*[http://www.totse.com/en/politics/national_security_agency/ National Security Agency]: "The largest and most secret of the intelligence agencies of the U.S. government, the National Security Agency (NSA), with headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland, has two main functions: to protect U.S. government communications and to intercept foreign communications."
 
*[http://www.austinlinks.com/Crypto/charter.html Original Charter for the NSA].
 
*[http://www.austinlinks.com/Crypto/charter.html Original Charter for the NSA].
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===Critical Books===
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*[[Matthew M. Aid]], ''The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency'' (Bloomsbury Press, 2009). [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23231 Review] by [[James Bamford]].
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===Articles & Commentary===
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* Former NSA Senior Executives (VIPS), [http://consortiumnews.com/2014/01/07/nsa-insiders-reveal-what-went-wrong/ "NSA Insiders Reveal What Went Wrong"], ''Consortium News'', January 7, 2014.
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* Rick Perlstein, [http://www.thenation.com/blog/174722/nsa-doppelganger "The NSA Doppelganger"], ''The Nation'', June 7, 2013.
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* David Jackson, Susan Davis and Kevin Johnson, [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/06/nsa-surveillance-pits-liberty-against-security/2398987/ "NSA surveillance pits liberty against security"], ''USA Today'', June 7, 2013.
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* Jim Galloway, [http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/jun/12/nsa-leaker-creates-rift-between-national-security-/ "NSA leaker creates a rift between 'national security' and 'liberty' Republicans"], ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', June 12, 2013.
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* Editorial, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/plus/chi-wp-fp-terror-approach,0,2320555.story "Revelations about NSA demand a close look by Congress"], ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', June 12, 2013.
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*Jim Hightower, [http://jimhightower.com/node/8059 "Repeal the patriot act,"] JimHightower.com, June 19, 2013.
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*James Bamford, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-the-national-security-agency/2013/06/21/438e0c4a-d37f-11e2-b05f-3ea3f0e7bb5a_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost Five myths about the National Security Agency], ''The Washington Post'', June 21, 2013.
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* Michael Kelley, [http://www.chron.com/technology/businessinsider/article/ORIGINAL-NSA-WHISTLEBLOWER-I-Saw-The-Order-To-4616247.php "ORIGINAL NSA WHISTLEBLOWER: I Saw The Order To Wiretap Barack Obama In 2004"], ''Houston Chronicle'', June 22, 2013.
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* Allison Sherry, [http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23530383/udall-nsa-states-significant-errors-about-privacy-protections "Udall: NSA states "significant" errors about privacy protections"], ''The Denver Post'',  June 24, 2013.
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* Ryan Gallagher, [http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/06/edward_snowden_fact_checking_which_surveillance_claims_were_right.html "Fact and Fiction in the NSA Surveillance Scandal"], ''Slate'', June 26, 2013.
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* John Dean, [http://verdict.justia.com/2013/06/28/will-director-of-national-intelligence-james-clapper-be-prosecuted-for-lying-to-congress-regarding-the-nsas-surveillance "Will Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Be Prosecuted for Lying to Congress Regarding the NSA’s Surveillance?"], Justia.com, June 28, 2013.
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* Martha Mendoza - AP, [http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/215694281.html "Broad coalition sues feds to halt electronic surveillance by National Security Agency"], ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', July 16, 2013.
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* Ali Watkins, [http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/17/3505474/skeptical-congress-turns-its-spycam.html "Skeptical Congress turns its spycam on NSA surveillance"], ''The Miami Herald'', July 17, 2013.
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* Donna Cassata, [http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/07/24/house-declines-limit-nsa-program/BWllYcR1XU9slzs7YCzaxL/story.html "House rejects limits to NSA program"], ''The Boston Globe'', July 24, 2013.
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* David Kravets, [http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/07/money-nsa-vote/ "Lawmakers Who Upheld NSA Phone Spying Received Double the Defense Industry Cash"], ''Wired'', July 26, 2013.
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* Editorial, [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-nsa-surveillance-amash-amendment-house-vote-20130729,0,6084823.story "Sending a message on NSA surveillance"], ''Los Angeles Times'', July 29, 2013.
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* Glenn Greenwald, [http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/29/poll-nsa-surveillance-privacy-pew "Major opinion shifts, in the US and Congress, on NSA surveillance and privacy"], ''The Guardian'', July 29, 2013.
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* Michael Kelley, [http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/Obama-meeting-with-lawmakers-on-NSA-surveillance-4700291.php "Surveillance critics face Obama in Oval Office"], ''Houston Chronicle'', August 2, 2013.
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* Glenn Greenwald, [http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/04/congress-nsa-denied-access "Members of Congress denied access to basic information about NSA"], ''The Guardian'', August 4, 2013.
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* Editorial, [http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-nsa-20130807,0,7042321.story "Keeping secrets secret"], ''Los Angeles Times'', August 7, 2013.
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* William Rivers Pitt, [http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/18022-you-are-in-fact-being-watched "You Are, In Fact, Being Watched "], truthout, August 7, 2013.
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* David Rothkopf, [http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/06/revelations_about_nsa_demand_a.html "The wrong approach to terror"], ''The Chicago Tribune'', August 8, 2013.
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* Steven Rosenfeld, [http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/your-government-spies-you-and-lies-about-it-now-what?paging=off "Your Government Spies on You and Lies About It: Now What?"], ''Alternet'', August 8, 2013.
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* Steve Chapman, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman/chi-obama-misleads-on-snowden-20130809,0,3903426.column "Obama's deceptions on Snowden"], ''The Chicago Tribune'', August 9, 2013.
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* Jay Stanley, [https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/prospect-blackmail-nsa "On the Prospect of Blackmail by the NSA"], American Civil Liberties Union Blog, October 15, 2013.
 +
* Alfred McCoy, [http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175795/tomgram%3A_alfred_mccoy%2C_it%27s_about_blackmail%2C_not_national_security/ "Surveillance and Scandal"], ''Tom Dispatch'', January 19, 2014. "Tomgram: Alfred McCoy, It's About Blackmail, Not National Security."
 +
* Benjy Sarlin, [http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/rnc-condemns-nsa-spying-shock-turnaround-0 "RNC condemns NSA spying in huge turnaround"], MSNBC, January 24, 2014.
 +
* Charlie Savage, [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/us/politics/democratic-senators-warn-about-use-of-patriot-act.html?_r=1& "Democratic Senators Issue Strong Warning About Use of the Patriot Act"], ''New York Times'', March 16, 2012.
 +
* Lolita C. Baldor, [http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/10/13/homeland_security_and_spy_agency_to_work_together/ "Homeland Security and spy agency to work together"], ''Boston Globe'', October 13, 2010.
 +
*Shane Harris and Tim Naftali, [http://www.slate.com/id/2133564 "Tinker, Tailor, Miner, Spy. Why the NSA's snooping is unprecedented in scale and scope,"] ''Slate'', January 3, 2006.
 
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16programbox.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1134768842-EbAjG+d8LiFD5AA/1IQ41w "A Half-Century of Surveillance,"] ''New York Times'', December 16, 2005.
 
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16programbox.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1134768842-EbAjG+d8LiFD5AA/1IQ41w "A Half-Century of Surveillance,"] ''New York Times'', December 16, 2005.
 +
*James Bamford, [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/weekinreview/25bamford.html?ex=1293166800&en=3d09922ebe6b2eac&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss "The Agency That Could Be Big Brother,"] ''New York Times'', December 25, 2005.
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===References===
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<references/>
  
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[[category:intelligence community]]
 
[[Category:Intelligence agencies]][[category:national security]]
 
[[Category:Intelligence agencies]][[category:national security]]
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[[Category:Civil liberties (U.S.)]][[Category:Needs review]]

Latest revision as of 02:44, 7 May 2014

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), established by a memorandum dated October 24, 1952, by President Harry S. Truman, is "the organization within the U.S. Government responsible for communications intelligence (COMINT) activities." [1]

June, 2013, Revelations by Glenn Greenwald Based on Edward Snowden's Whistleblowing

Glenn Greenwald and his reporting dominated the news in June 2013 when he reported in the Guardian information provided to him by Edward Snowden exposing massive, secret, global spying via NSA acquisition of online data on hundreds of millions of people around the world.

George W. Bush's domestic spying

NSA "cookies"

The NSA had been placing files called "cookies" on visitors' computers to track internet surfing activity "despite strict federal rules banning most of them," the Associated Press's Anick Jesdanun reported December 29, 2005. Following a privacy activist's complaint, the NSA acknowledged a mistake but "the issue raises questions about privacy at a spy agency already on the defensive amid reports of a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States."

"Until Tuesday [December 17th], the NSA site created two cookies that do not expire until 2035--likely beyond the life of any computer in use today," Jesdanun wrote.

Also see:

  • "NSA Web Site Uses Banned 'Cookies'," Associated Press (CBS News), December 28, 2005: "A senior official must sign off on any such use, and an agency that uses them must disclose and detail their use in its privacy policy."

NSA Overview

The NSA is "the Nation's cryptologic organization. It coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign intelligence information. A high technology organization, NSA is on the frontiers of communications and data processing. It is also one of the most important centers of foreign language analysis and research within the Government."

  • Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
  • Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) - "protecting all classified and sensitive information that is stored or sent through U.S. Government equipment."
  • R&D - Research and development programs: "cryptanalytic research led to the first large-scale computer and the first solid-state computer, predecessors to the modern computer."
  • NSA "employs the country's premier codemakers and codebreakers."

"Most NSA/CSS employees, both civilian and military, are headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, centrally located between Baltimore and Washington, DC. Its workforce represents an unusual combination of specialties: analysts, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, linguists, computer scientists, researchers, as well as customer relations specialists, security officers, data flow experts, managers, administrative and clerical assistants."[2]

Contact Information

Website: http://www.nsa.gov/

Leadership

SourceWatch Resources

External links

Profiles

Critical Books

Articles & Commentary

References

  1. ↑ National Security Administration, NSA Leadership, nsa.gov, Accessed June 19, 2013.
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