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This is a tough one, for sure.

What the NSA is doing is called link analysis. It is an incredibly cool tool for catching bad guys. You can start with a group of suspects and analyze who they are calling (1st degree), then analyze who those guys calling (2nd degree), and then who they are calling (3rd degree), etc. This data is combined with lost of data from other public and private sources (Interpol, NCIC, news wire services, etc., etc.) and run through software that looks for links between the suspects. With enough data, and some pretty sophisticated analysis, you can get a detailed schematic of the structure of an entire organization. I first encountered it maybe 10 years ago when it was being used to combat drug cartels but it was developed earlier than that by the NSA for intelligence work. I’m sure it is way more sophisticated now that it was back then. Back when I was familiar with this stuff the government had to go through a laborious process to subpoena phone records and I assume that, after 911, the rational was there to have all of the records possible to be able to move react in a timely manner to a terrorist threat.

Like I say, it is a great tool for catching bad guys, but I also agree that, in the wrong hands, it could be used for all sorts of nefarious purposes (blackmail comes to mind). This is a very difficult area, if the technology is there to catch bad guys, can the government put the public at risk by refusing to use it? Is the long term risk of the government having this capability a greater risk?

What is undeniable is that some a**h*** has taken it upon himself (herself?) to destroy a program that can is very helpful in the war on terrorism and should be tried for treason.

What is undeniable is that some a**h*** has taken it upon himself (herself?) to destroy a program that can is very helpful in the war on terrorism and should be tried for treason.

This I disagree with, you can't know the motives of the people who disclosed this. They may have witnesed first-hand the program being used for all sorts of nefarious purposes. And to think that the group who pulled off the attacks on America five years ago would be so unfamiliar with their adversay as to not have already modified their telephone usage patterns so as to sheild their behavior from data mining operations like this is inconsistent with the idea that they were clever enough to pull off the attacks in the first place.

This seems like a fishing expedition, and someone at the NSA, who may have been there long enough to know better, spoke up. If this is a good idea, let the White House be honest about it.

What the NSA is doing is called link analysis. It is an incredibly cool tool for catching bad guys. You can start with a group of suspects and analyze who they are calling (1st degree), then analyze who those guys calling (2nd degree), and then who they are calling (3rd degree), etc. This data is combined with lost of data from other public and private sources (Interpol, NCIC, news wire services, etc., etc.) and run through software that looks for links between the suspects. With enough data, and some pretty sophisticated analysis, you can get a detailed schematic of the structure of an entire organization.

Google PROMIS INSLAW and PROMIS Casolaro.

But first, put on a pot of coffee, take your phone off the hook (or flip on the answering machine), put the "do not disturb" sign on your door... and remove any throwable objects from within arm's reach.