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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Mike's Tinfoil Hat

About twelve hours after NSA spying program leaker Russell Tice says that he is going to reveal far more "unlawful activity" that took place at the NSA under Michael Hayden including "the illegal use of space-based satellites and systems to spy on U.S. citizens," suddenly, out of nowhere, there's an AP story benignly describing the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency turning its assets on America.

It describes all the beneficial things that have flowed from this satellite spy agency watching Americans, help during Katrina and Rita, not to mention helping prepare security for super bowls, conventions, etc.

With no news peg at all, this story shoots to number four on the AP top stories list.

This reads to me like a story designed to innoculate against whatever Russell Tice is going to reveal next week. The head of this agency just happens to be retiring and available for an interview. Happens all the time, right?

The head of a super secret classified program resigns and gives an interview to the AP which appears in local papers across the country rather than the higher profile NYTimes or WaPo.

Don't you remember all those interviews over the years from NSA officials, communications and encryption experts, weapons designers, and the other satellite office, the NRO?

(Sorry, haven't had the tin foil hat out in a week or so.)

2 Comments:

  • I saw that headline, "Spy Agency Watching Americans From Space" and thought it was about Tice too.

    I didn’t think about the puff piece being a ploy, but sadly in today’s style of message crafting, you may have a good point.

    A good pointy tin foil hat may be in order indeed.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:27 AM  

  • Yeah, that's why I mention the tinfoil hat. Sometimes, I know I'm out there on a very brittle paranoid limb.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 2:59 PM  

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