[48024] in Cypherpunks
Re: "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (hallam@w3.org)
Thu Jan 25 16:17:53 1996
To: perry@piermont.com, cypherpunks@toad.com
Cc: hallam@w3.org
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Thu, 25 Jan 96 14:47:38 EST."
<199601251947.OAA16586@jekyll.piermont.com>
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 96 16:08:18 -0500
From: hallam@w3.org
>Why is he our patron saint? He was a government official coming out
>against invasion of privacy. Isn't that what we are all after, in the
>end?
There is a considerable difference between running a government and being an
individual. It is not merely ethical for one government to read another's mail,
it is a duty.
By not taking adequate steps to inform itself of the Japaneese intentions the US
suffered the loss of a substantial part of the US fleet at Pearl Harbour. Had
sufficient resources been avaliable the naval codes could have been cracked in
time. The closure of the Black chamber was a key reason why US espionage
efforts were inadequate at the start of WWII.
Given the choice between the US Army and the CIA plus NSA I would choose the
latter any day. The millitary hardware is useless without intelligence
operatives. Unless Perry is advocating an absolutist pacifist stance I don't see
that his stance is credible. I don't know many pacifists who oppose intelligence
gathering.
Diplomatic trafic has always been considered fair game. Long may it remain so.
Phill
