[46724] in Cypherpunks
RE: NSA says strong crypto to China?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (blanc)
Sun Jan 7 17:38:33 1996
From: blanc <blancw@accessone.com>
To: "cypherpunks@toad.com" <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 14:39:18 -0800
From: Alex Strasheim[
(...)But I don't necessarily look at the
NSA as an enemy. Right now we're on opposite sides of an important =
issue,
and I think they're doing a lot of damage. But I tend to think that =
they
believe what they're doing is in the national interest. They're trying=20
to defend democracy -- our democracy, at least.
"The" NSA is not a constant, a body which remains the same regardless of =
the individuals working within it. The character of the agency, I =
expect, would change with the individuals. The agency is not designed =
to be dangerous to citizens. But their mileage could vary depending =
upon the leadership, upon their grasp of its purpose.
That's what this list is all about: we're trying to impose certain =
civil
liberties on the world using a strategy that's based on anarchy theory.=20
That theory tells us that if we can distribute tools and establish
standards we'll secure privacy and free speech rights regardless of what
governments do. That's a very startling idea, and I believe it's sound. =
I believe that it's possible to impose the first ammendment on the =
entire
world by distributing crypto software.
But realize that these software tools and what they make possible (first =
amendment ideas, anarchy) are not being "imposed" - they're being =
selected/accepted by the users by a process of conscious individual =
decision, not by a blanket policy imposition handed down from 'above' =
(you *will* use crypto, and you *will* like it).
I don't think the NSA is out to suppress our liberties. They're trying =
to
protect the nation. Their problem is that they're operating under an =
old,
obsolete paradigm. (.......)
But the question is, why are they operating under obsolete paradigms? =
Why aren't they paying attention to what they are doing, to what is =
intelligently appropriate, to the philosophical ideals of the nation =
they're representing? (and therefore who or what are they *really* =
trying to protect)
..
Blanc
