The National Security Agency, Edward Snowden’s Biggest Brother and the bête noire of civil libertarians everywhere, has been around since it morphed out of Signal Intelligence and its World War II code-breaking charge. More than a decade ago, James Bamford wrote the national best seller, “Body of Secrets,” an anatomy of the NSA. Here was Bamford’s take then:
“For Americans, the greatest danger of the NSA is its involvement with law enforcement. During the Nixon years, the NSA was used to secretly target antiwar protesters and others in disfavor with the White House. Today (2001) among the NSA’s key target areas are the ‘transnational’ threats: narcotics trafficking, terrorism, international organized crime, weapons proliferation and illicit trade practices.”