Clapper's boss, General Keith Alexander operates from an NSA command module, built as a replica of the bridge of the fictional Starship Enterprise. No joke: That is the centerpiece of his war room. (They must be nothing, if not "cool" in the StarTrek community.)
Alexander even sits in a "Captain's Chair" fashioned after the one on the TV series and movies that followed
The model they chose to appropriate is "Next-Gen NCC-1701-D." That's where they play at masterminding global espionage in the name of Washington's vision of U.S. global command and control.
They also have a fascination, make that an obsession, with technology as well, and speak of the process of mopping up data "hoovering," a reference to vacuum cleaners of days gone by.
Oh, how fun. They try to get it all because, well, simply, they think they can.
Reports the Washington Post:
""Rather than look for a single needle in the haystack, his approach was, "Let's collect the whole haystack,' said one former senior US intelligence official who tracked the plan's implementation. "Collect it all, tag it, store it.... And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it. . . ."
This is how the concept of Total Information Awareness (TIA) has morphed into Total Information Dominance.(TID.) Move to the side you S&M freaks, your calling has a new brand of Dominatrixes.
This agency and its clones at local and state levels have set out to suck up as much "data" as they could with no apparent limits. Their bible is an Army intelligence memo, EO 12333:
"EO 12333 provides that "timely and accurate information about the activities, capabilities, plans, and intentions of foreign powers, organizations, and persons, and their agents, is essential to the national security of the United States." reports the Post "All reasonable and lawful means must be used to ensure that the United States will receive the best intelligence possible."
And so it is all rationalized as "technical means" with the law interpreted to justify virtually anything. Since few in the public are savvy enough to know how it all works, most are in awe as they continue to try to master the latest generations of smartphones or iPads.
These documents are riddled with carefully contrived distinctions like "merely receiving information does not constitute "collection" under AR 381-10; collection entails receiving "for use.'"
The Agency's decide what they can and can't get away with in an environment where Congressional oversight has deteriorated into cheerleading instead of an effective check or balance. Members of Congress who are privy to the secrets are briefed in special lead-lined rooms, and flattered into feeling self important and part of the "mission."
Says THE memo: "Remember, Army intelligence may always receive information, if only to determine its intelligence value and whether it can be collected, retained, or disseminated in accordance with governing policy."
This is spy-speak of the highest density, and found in documents with endless subordinate clauses.
Any questions? Try ringing up Intelligence Watch at (703) 697-5484/5485, the inside number listed in the memo.
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