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The Truth About National Security Agency and the History of Secret Communication.

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Concerns with the National Security Agency and the issue of secrecy cropped up before September 11, 2001, but in many minds it wasn’t the crucial subject then that it is today. 

The attacks on the World Trade Center towers seemed to awaken a new concern for this issue, not only in government leaders but also in a huge number of citizens. 

Events of that day spawned an aggressive campaign of interrogation, suspicion and fear that resulted in an uncomfortable atmosphere across the United States. 

People who have never had to show identification or explain their travel plans have to do so in the 21st century, primarily because of the atmosphere of suspicion and doubt that pervades most nations. 

Those who know the National Security Agency and the history of its work realize that there were similar concerns at certain times in the past, even as recently as the 1950s. 

At that time, Senator Joseph McCarthy almost single-handedly created a cloud of suspicion that hung over the entire nation for a long time. 

During World War II people of German and Japanese descent were not only suspected but were even deported or imprisoned because of their heritage or appearance. 

This raises the question of whether the world is so much different at its heart than it was at other times of stress and conflict in the past. 

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National Security in the Age of Terrorism

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Maybe the World is Different

There are those among who would argue that the National Security Agency and the threat of terrorism do indeed make the 21st century world different from any time in the past. 

Weapons technology and transportation technology have brought us much closer to populations with whom we had little or no contact before. 

For some, the September 11, 2001 events are proof of a world that has changed so dramatically the plans and efforts of the past no longer have the same effect. 

It may be impossible to judge this in the huge sweep of history, but the new administration in Washington D.C. is taking steps in a different direction. 

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A New Way of Walking

President Barack Obama’s newly appointed Homeland Security head, Janet Napolitano, is reportedly directing her agency to reassess the program that has come to define the U.S. in the world’s eyes. 

The new secretary comes from a state-government background and has expressed her displeasure with federally mandated programs in the past. 

As a state governor (Arizona) she made sure that the Homeland Security Department understood that some of its programs cost far too much and had very little success. 

It appears that her comments on the subject have stirred others to join the chorus, as other state and local government leaders try to comply with mandated but unfunded programs. 

The question is whether Ms. Napolitano’s philosophy will have an immediate effect or if the dinosaur of federal government will slow her initiatives to a crawl. 

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Ready for Another Katrina or 9/11

In the bulls-eye of the target for media and political critics are the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

Many eyes are trained on these two agencies as a new administration takes the reins in Washington D.C.

Some who opposed Barack Obama on the campaign trail continue to watch the reaction of other countries to what appears to be a more open dialogue between rivals. 

Because the power wielded by a federal administration comes from a strong political base, the policies of the Obama administration will reflect in large part the beliefs of those who contribute financially to the Obama effort. 

The National Security Agency and the concept of security are relatively young in terms of political history.

In the past, a nation’s security was threatened only by another nation that undertook a months-long journey at enormous expense. 

Today, an individual with enough passion for a cause can wreak havoc in another location in a rather short amount of time. 

The question is: Will the National Security Agency and the policies of the U.S. government, or any other democratic country for that matter, be tailored to deal with the national security issues facing the globe now?

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