Vacuuming Intelligence – Just How Smart Is It?
Passport, the new blog from Foreign Policy Magazine, has an interesting take on the NSA’s initiative to data mine e-mails and other communications to avert terrorist attacks. There are a number of problems with this approach. The most significant is that it ignores the reality that al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are, among other things, very effective learning organizations. The author quotes a WaPo article that says, "When terrorist groups learned that the National Security Agency could track electronic communication only when it was in transit -- not when it was sitting in an inbox -- users started drafting messages in free e-mail accounts, then allowing others to log in to the accounts and read the drafts. No message ever had to be sent."
Is it possible that American citizens are relinquishing civil rights with no upside to the sacrifice? Franklin’s oft quoted assertion comes to mind: Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.