You Know Its Illegal

Admit it, until the Shrubbery you never heard about the National Security Agency. You didn’t know it was a military agency headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. I know you probably don’t know who George G. Meade was, although you probably do know about the battle that he gained his fame in, and the guy who lost it. [Gettysburg & Lee, if you’re interested.] The only DirNSA [Director of the National Security Agency] most people have ever heard of is Admiral Bobby Inman, who became a commentator, although General William Odom has made a minor name by opposing the Shrubbery lately.

This is as things should be. As a military outfit, NSA wasn’t involved in anything in the US, and a major portion of its approximately 38,000 people was always stationed around the world at military bases.

Most of the coverage never connected the attack on the USS Liberty by the Israelis or the North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo followed by the destruction of a US Navy EC-121 with NSA.

That is as it should be for a military intelligence unit. It should do its job in as invisible manner as possible. Few could name the corresponding units in Britain, Canada, or Australia. They exist but they don’t do anything that would make people notice them.

Now everyone is talking about the Agency. That should never have happened. The telcos talk about meetings with people from NSA. That should never happen. NSA has turned its attention to the US. That should never happen.

The apologists talk about a “war”. There is no war. There is no declaration of war. The government is not prevented from conducting normal business as a result of attacks. The “terrorists” are individuals, not a state. If you aren’t directly linked to the military, your life did change at all. You aren’t being asked to sacrifice anything.

Let’s get real: Katrina had a bigger effect on the lives of Americans than this “war”. Hundreds of thousands of Americans were not made homeless on 9/11.

The military should not be spying on American citizens. What the NSA is doing is not legal, is not efficient, is not targeted, and is not necessary. If you find out that a suspected terrorist is making calls, getting the information is fast and easy through the FISA court.

The Shrubbery told you it was targeted; it isn’t. He told you it was limited to international calls; it isn’t. Now he tells you that they aren’t listening to the calls. You would have to be incredibly stupid to believe him. He lies.

The reaction of the government when Qwest required proof that the request was legal is all you have to know: the government had no proof.