MILNET: National Security Agency

An Interview with Lt. General Michael V. Hayden of the NSA

The NSA was formed by a Presidential Directive, with the authority provided the President by the National Security Act of 1947. The charter for the NSA still remains classified, and mention of its duties in later directives are also classified. It is clear that the task of the agency is related to cryptology and SIGINT or SIGnals INTelligence. Apart from a small amount of information about the management structure of the organization, little else has been officially released about the NSA.

In James Bamford's The Puzzle Palace, some supposition about what the NSA is tasked to do is based upon study of the early years of cryptology and signals analysis that lead to the National Security Act of 1947. Richelson's The U.S. Intelligence Community also supports many of Bamford's theories.

It is Bamford's theory that the NSA still operates within the USA today, collecting information on Foreign Nationals and those suspected of working with Foreign Nationals. It appears that Bamford believes that the NSA has wide powers do so, those powers being hidden in the classified statement of its mission and authority that can be found in "The Act".

milnet@milnet.com
Last Updated: 11/15/95