NSA

The Damage Intelligence Leakers Can Do

by David Foglesong

A case study from 1979 shows how leaks of misleading information can damage national security.

The Time U.S. Spies Thought Al Qaeda Was Ready to Nuke D.C.

American intelligence chiefs were so worried in late 2003 of a nuclear terror attack, they asked the British to take over their spying in case something ‘catastrophic’ went down.

George W. Bush Made Retroactive N.S.A. ‘Fix’ After Hospital Room Showdown

After officials discovered the NSA had collected metadata on strictly domestic calls, Bush gave the agency retroactive authority to do so.

Edward Snowden is the 21st Century's Frank Church

by Kristie Macrakis

After decades of growth, it's time to shrink the national security state.

Documenting Darkness

by Tom Engelhardt

How a thug state operates.

Review of Luke Harding's "The Snowden Files"

by Murray Polner

The first of no doubt many dissections of the Edward Snowden saga.

Mistaking Omniscience for Omnipotence

by Tom Engelhardt

In a world without privacy, there are no exemptions for our spies.

Don't Underestimate Risks of Government Spying

by Julian Zelizer

The notion that citizens should just trust the government to do the right thing on national security poses too many dangers.

Where Does the Eavesdropping Scandal End?

by John Prados

At this rate, American citizens will be the only ones whom the NSA can safely intercept.

Juan Cole: Bradley Manning in a World of Cheneys, Hadithas, and NSA Domestic Surveillance

The sentencing of Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison came because he leaked government documents, mostly with a low level of classification that probably shouldn’t have been classified in the first place. 

Saying No To The Surveillance State

by Jackson Lears

These are dark days for the republic. 

Justyn Dillingham: Jimmy Carter’s Forgotten History Lesson

Justyn Dillingham is a freelance writer residing in Tucson, Arizona. A former president has given the weight of his voice and reputation to the critics of the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program, blasting the federal government’s “invasion of human rights and American privacy” and suggesting that leaking the program’s existence to the press was “beneficial.” Ordinarily, this might give even the staunchest defenders of the NSA pause, for ordinarily a former president’s opinion carries considerable influence.But this time it will make little difference. For the former president is, of course, Jimmy Carter—the only former president one could imagine making such a statement, and not coincidentally one of the more widely detested former presidents in recent memory.

Max Boot: What the Snowden Acolytes Won't Tell You

Max Boot is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of "Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present" (Liveright, 2013).'The dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe."That quip from Tom Wolfe is worth savoring as the U.S. prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July—and as overheated rhetoric emanates from fans of Edward Snowden, the proud thief of American secrets. Even supporters, like Sen. Rand Paul, who express discomfort with how he fled to China and Russia, nevertheless applaud Mr. Snowden for alerting Americans to a supposedly dangerous infringement of liberty from the government's monitoring of electronic communications. Mr. Snowden's more extreme acolytes credit him with stopping the rise of a new tyranny in Washington.

Leaks to the Media ... An Old Story?

Image via Shutterstock.Leaks through History Was It Illegal for President Bush to Leak Classified Secrets to Bob Woodward?Deep Throat and the FBI's History of Hiding Its Own LeaksWhy Did President Ford Ban Assassinations? (Explains that Ford leaked the fact that the CIA had plotted the assassination of foreign leaders.)Rick Shenkman: Leaks that might have changed the history of Vietnam Athan Theoharis: Deep Throat and the FBI's History of Hiding Its Own LeaksCIA Spy Case: Valerie Plame Leak Note: This article was first published October 10, 2001 and has been updated.