At 9:33 PM 1/27/96, hallam@w3.org wrote:

They probably should do, the NSA was critical in ensuring the demise of the USSR and in maintaining stability throughout the cold war period.

The point is not that the NSA had no military function. The point is that it is now an agency searching for a role. It is often a dangerous thing for the military to involve itself in civil affairs.

I agree with this strongly. From my readings about the NSA in particular and SIGINT in general, they played a valuable role in the 1950-1990 Cold War period. (I'm not so sure a world war would have resulted in some alternate history where the NSA did not exist, but I suspect things might have been more chaotic and that war might have been likelier. I am thus prepared to give credit to the NSA where credit is due.) However, as Phill notes, the NSA and other intelligence agencies are now in that most dangerous of positions: a powerful agency or department casting about for something to do. Spying on citizens and keeping the keys to their private communications and diaries is not an appropriate option. AT&T is downsizing, IBM downsized a while back, so why couldn't the NSA just do the right thing: admit that the Soviet threat is no more, congratulate the victors, and downsize by 20,000 employees? --Tim Boycott espionage-enabled software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 - 1 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."