Comment Re:They are pretending that they do not know (Score 1) 103
Admiral Rogers,
The anonymous letter above has some good ideas about respecting the Constitution. You swore an oath to defend that social contract, and that oath is one of the most respectible American values I know. i know nothing about you and your history, so I respectfully - and hopefully - give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that has an American Admiral, you understand words such as "oath", "honor" and "duty" better than most.
The duty to defend the Constitution is not an easy one at times, but it is something your fellow citizens will respect. The would even come to aid you if you should need them; you only have to ask. Open up the whole problem, without the usual spy-talk filled with obfuscation and dissembling, and ask the many intelligent men and women - your friends and neighbors. The internet seems help us solve even complex problem when we work together. Yes, this might require retreating from some current investigations; the investment you would gain by having support by working with your fellow citizens will more than make up for any short-term losses. Call if a "strategic retreat", if you want.
The previous anonymous letter mentioned a key point:
if You've already hinted at part of the solution -- differentiate between a cheeto-stained guy in a Guy Fawkes mask, versus a PLA, FSB, or NSA operative who's actually trying to do economic harm to America...
This is a key idea, and the NSA - or, possibly, this country - cannot last if the intelligence community is undermining the rest of the country. We have already seen billions of dollars in damage over this, and cannot take much more. As a suggestion on how to address the problem targeting your collections, you may want to consider re-hiring William Binney and Thomas Drake. Their original program known as THINTHREAD may not be the ultimate solution to this situation, but the ideas it had about encrypting all captured until an individual warrant is provided seems like a good place to start.
This country, more than ever, needs people to defend the Constitution. It's a simple document, with good ideas. Now, more than any time in the last two hundred years, has our founding document and highest law needed defending. It has threats that are foreign, and even larger threats that are domestic.
Admiral, I do not envy your position and the hard challenges ahead of you. Fortunately, your oath makes the path ahead clear. Good luck and godspeed.
/not posting anonymously, because I stand behind my words
//just like I stand behind the right to post anonymously by anybody who so desires