Downsizing the NSA

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."

On Sun, 28 Jan 1996, Timothy C. May wrote:

> 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?


   You didn't read about it in the _Baltimore Sun_, so obviously it must not 
have happened?

Tim May writes:
> 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?

Alan Horowitz writes:
# You didn't read about it in the _Baltimore Sun_, so obviously it must not 
# have happened?

Where do you propose that these 20,000 mathematicians went?  Did they take
advantage of the unmet demand for math professors ? <snort>
Please share your evidence for this dramatic employment shift with the rest 
of us.

Futplex <futplex@pseudonym.com>

> > congratulate the victors, and downsize by 20,000 employees?
> 
> Alan Horowitz writes:
> # You didn't read about it in the _Baltimore Sun_, so obviously it must not 
> # have happened?
> 
> Where do you propose that these 20,000 mathematicians went?  Did they take

  There are lots of non-mathematcicticians working at NSA. I didn't say 
that NSA down-sized by 20,000. I'm saying that not everything that NSA 
does, becomes common knowledge in a few weeks.

Timothy C. May writes:

>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?

They have been downsizing for almost 4 years now. Not just people, but
budget and mission priorities too. I would imagine they are smaller now
than they were in 1980.