From the article...
Until recently the US government strictly controlled the strength of cryptography in software exported to different countries, in order to protect the government's ability to access and monitor communications data. The regulations were relaxed after pressure from industry but Madison believes that this may have driven the NSA to find ways to carry out surveillance. "They're not going to give in over exporting strong cryptography without getting something in return," he says. I can't believe that they would voluntarily enter a period of weakend capabilities. My guess would be that he has the event ordering wrong. More likely the security types had alternatives in place and this, along with the easy flow of crypto code over the borders meant that relaxing the crypto regulations would not alter the landscape. It might even appease some of the privacy activists. Keep your eye on the birdie. I'm still waiting for RIP-USA to rear its ugly mug. Mike