Winston wrote:So what is the true purpose of the CIA, NSA and US intelligence then? The NSA has no official list of accomplishments. I don't think it's about protection from terrorism. There must be more that they are doing than just looking for terrorists, right? Whatever it is, it's probably very immoral and disturbing, to say the least. Wanting to control the world and everything probably has something to do with it.momopi wrote:The United States has 16 separate intelligence agencies, collectively referred to as the US Intelligence Community (IC). CIA is 1/16. NSA is 1/16. Considering the importance of internet search engines to intelligence collection, it wouldn't surprise me if all 16 have some kind of working relationship with Google and Yahoo.
But of course, you aren't supposed to think like that. You are supposed to believe whatever you are told and watch the football or basketball game. Stupid.
The primary function of an intelligence agency is to collect information on domestic or foreign entities and advise policymakers. However as of 2004 the CIA can no longer advise policymakers directly or independently. Look up Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and DNI (Director of National Intelligence).
The NSA is a wiretapping agency, see "Operation Ivy Bells" for example of what they do, and "ACLU vs. NSA" for the controversy on domestic surveillance. Obviously, if they were successful in wiretapping the Chinese or Russian embassy somewhere, you should expect them to keep their mouth shut -- loose lips sink ships.
The nature of intelligence collection has traditionally been sub rosa. But this is the era of the internet and Google Earth. Whoever has a hand or foot in with popular search engines will have an edge over the competition in intelligence collection. This is probably one reason why the Chinese government was hostile to Google, because unlike Yahoo, Google wasn't willing to jump when told (by the Chinese government). Given choice, they'd prefer to have Baidu dominate the market, because they can dictate what Baidu filters. Dissidents in the US who thinks the US government is censoring the internet have very little clue or experience with real censorship.
