Presents a history of the agency, from its inception in 1945, to its role in the Cold War, to its controversial advisory position at the time of the Bush administration's search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, shortly before the invasion of 2003.

In February of 2006, Matthew Aid's discovery of a massive secret historical document reclassification program then taking place at the National Archives made the front page of the New York Times. This discovery is only the tip of the iceberg of Aid's more than twenty years of intensive research, culled from thousands of pages of formerly top secret documents. In The Secret Sentry, he details the untold history of America's most elusive and powerful intelligence agency, the National Security Agency (NSA), since the end of World War II. This will be the first comprehensive history of the NSA, most recently in the news with regards to domestic spying, and will reveal brand new details about controversial episodes including the creation of Israel, the Bay of Pigs, the Berlin Wall, and the invasion of Iraq. Since the beginning of the Cold War, the NSA has become the most important source of intelligence in the US government: 60% of the president's daily briefing comes from the NSA. Matthew Aid will reveal just how this came to be, and why the NSA has gone to such great lengths to keep its history secret.

Presents a history of the agency, from its inception in 1945, to its role in the Cold War, to its controversial advisory position at the time of the Bush administration's search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, shortly before the invasion of 2003.

The National Security Agency is the world’s most powerful, most far-reaching espionage. Now with a new afterword describing the security lapses that preceded the attacks of September 11, 2001, Body of Secrets takes us to the inner sanctum of America’s spy world. In the follow-up to his bestselling Puzzle Palace, James Banford reveals the NSA’s hidden role in the most volatile world events of the past, and its desperate scramble to meet the frightening challenges of today and tomorrow. Here is a scrupulously documented account—much of which is based on unprecedented access to previously undisclosed documents—of the agency’s tireless hunt for intelligence on enemies and allies alike. Body of secrets is a riveting analysis of this most clandestine of agencies, a major work of history and investigative journalism. A New York Times Notable Book

Traces the monumental growth of the American intelligence community after the September 11 attacks, citing the billions that have been spent on intelligence efforts while explaining why its sophisticated systems are still being eluded by ragtag enemies. By the author of The Secret Sentry.

An intensely controversial scrutiny of American democracy's fundamental tension between the competing imperatives of security and openness.

Much has been said and written about the failure of U.S. intelligence to prevent the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and its overestimation of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction under Saddam Hussein. This book focuses instead on the central role that intelligence-collection systems play in promoting arms control and disarmament. Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. and Keith Hansen bring more than fifty combined years of experience to this discussion of the capabilities of technical systems, which are primarily based in space. Their history of the rapid advancement of surveillance technology is a window into a dramatic reconceptualization of Cold War strategies and policy planning. Graham and Hansen focus on the intelligence successes against Soviet strategic nuclear forces and the quality of the intelligence that has made possible accurate assessments of WMD programs in North Korea, Iran, and Libya. Their important insights shed a much-needed light on the process of verifying how the world harnesses the proliferation of nuclear arms and the continual drive for advancements in technology.