Whistleblowers: How NSA Created the 'Largest Failure' In Its History (zdnet.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Former NSA whistleblowers contend that the agency shut down a program that could have "absolutely prevented" some of the worst terror attacks in memory. According to the ZDNet story: "Weeks prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks, a test-bed program dubbed ThinThread was shut down in favor of a more expensive, privacy-invasive program that too would see its eventual demise some three years later -- not before wasting billions of Americans' tax dollars. Four whistleblowers, including a congressional senior staffer, came out against the intelligence community they had served, after ThinThread. designed to modernize the agency's intelligence gathering effort, was cancelled. Speaking at the premier of a new documentary film A Good American in New York, which chronicles the rise and demise of the program, the whistleblowers spoke in support of the program, led by former NSA technical director William Binney."

Comments

How old are you?

[Anonymous Coward]

Humans have needs, damnit. All humans do, including you. You need food, medicine, recreation, etc. And in order for these things to be available, people must labor to produce them. Money is the most efficient means we have created to facilitate the exchange of goods and services.

So, since meeting our needs *must* rule (what in God's name do humans do apart from this, I mean really?), and since money is the best way to organize this enterprise, money *should* rule.

If some rich asshole asked you to work a full time job for him, for free, you would tell him to piss off. Why in the world do you think he should react any differently when you ask him to give you his money for free?

One thing about the NSA and the CIA

[fustakrakich]

Their "failures" are noisy and public, by design. Their many successes? Well, we're not going to hear much about them, unless somebody snitches. And for the record, Snowden and Manning gave us nothing, no smoking gun, zilch, unless you are interested in the adventures of Anna Nicole Smith... And it doesn't matter anyway. The people have spoken, and they highly approve, even more so in light of recent events. Fascism is on the march.

Treason by any other name still stinks

[cold fjord]

And after conversations are encrypted effort will be made to render traffic analysis useless as well.

In short: aiding the enemy.

I think I've seen reasoning like that before.

The bodies in Paris, only the latest kills in the West, are barely cold, and you apparently want more. Unfortunately that is very likely to happen.

The thing that puzzles me is the indifference. What is that? Autism? Narcissism? Lack of empathy? Misplaced idealism? Distorted thinking? Common cause with al Qaeda? Or simply wanting to see the world burn?