Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency by James Bamford

Author:James Bamford
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: United States, 20th Century, History
ISBN: 9780307425058
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: 2002-04-29T04:00:00+00:00

Named on March 10, 1981, to fill Inman's chair at NSA was his old friend Lincoln D. Faurer, a fifty-three-year-old Air Force lieutenant general with gray hair and a buzz cut. A native of Medford, Massachusetts, Faurer graduated from West Point and spent most of his career carrying out intelligence and strategic reconnaissance assignments, commanding RB-47s in the 1950s, and taking over a surveillance squadron on the frigid Aleutian island of Shemya during the late 1960s. During the 1970s, Faurer served variously as the director of intelligence for the U.S. Southern Command; Air Force deputy assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence; vice director for production at the Defense Intelligence Agency; director of intelligence at the U.S. European Command; and deputy chairman of the NATO Military Committee.

When Faurer arrived, Crypto City was undergoing the largest construction boom in its history. The enormous building program was adding a million square feet to his headquarters/operations complex, at a cost of $150 million, plus another million square feet with new buildings for the Technology and Systems Organization and other facilities. Under President Reagan, money for the spy world would flow as if from a faucet with the handle broken off. Fat times were coming to NSA.

Unlike Inman, Faurer was determined to keep out of the spotlight; he began rebuilding the agency's wall of anonymity. Speaking to a group of NSA retirees, he gave them a not-so-subtle warning to forever keep their mouths shut. "Leaks are not the answer," he scolded. "They are dangerous, destructive, and inexcusable. Both the source and user of leaked classified information should be met with public disapprobation, and media judgment in disclosing intelligence accomplishments should be criticized. If free speech and free press are to remain the cornerstone of our society, given the growing strength of our adversary, 'free' must not be synonymous with 'irresponsible.' " He then quoted George Washington: " 'The necessity for procuring good intelligence is apparent and need not be further urged—all that remains for me to add is that you keep the whole matter as secret as possible.' "

Blunt, lacking Inman's tact and charisma as well as his many friends in Congress, Faurer was allegedly pushed out the door. After four years in office, the general was due to retire in August 1985. But over the previous winter he had become embroiled in a major budget fight. In order to divert money to NSA, the Pentagon, and the rest of the intelligence community, Reagan dammed up the flow to many social programs. Angered at the rising federal budget deficits and worried about their impact on the 1986 congressional elections, Democrats and many Republicans lit a fire under the administration to cut back on defense spending. In response, Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger began targeting a number of programs for cuts. High on his agenda was placing NSA's overweight frame on a diet.

But Faurer would have none of it. He believed that NSA's Crypto City should continue its rapid growth, not slow down. At the

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