Summer Bridge 2011 /Freshman Seminar By: William Sears & Jonathan Suits

The NSA is an agency inside the department of defense for the United States government. The purpose of the NSA is to direct activities, manage communication, and other specific activities in order to protect US Government information. The main goal of the NSA is to encode and decode data and to safeguard information systems and United States signals. The NSA is also responsible for one of the largest and vital centers of foreign language analysis and research for the United States government.

The National security agency was originally named the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA) and was created on May 20; The initial purpose of the agency was to direct messages between different government agencies such as the U.S. Army and Navy. The AFSA eventually fell apart due to lack of cooperation between the different agencies they were working with. It was later reorganized under President Truman in June of 1952 and became known as the National Security Agency (NSA).

The National Security Agency also has an agency in it called the Central Security Service which was created in The creation of the Central Security Service was to create a cooperation between the United States Military and the NSA dealing with elements of cryptography. Cryptography is the process of code breaking and code making by using mathematics.

The NSA (National Security Agency) is forbidden to spy on people in the United States to gather information because of the Fourth Amendment and privacy laws. The Fourth Amendment states that United State citizens are protected against unlawful seizures and unreasonable searches of their homes, information, persons, etc. Unless the officer had a warrant he cannot search ones house. Same rules apply for tapping into ones or phone. People’s privacy is protected by law in the United States but any information that passes the borders can be read or heard by them.

The NSA has been under much criticism the past few years for multiple reasons. The agency has been unable to adjust to the era after the cold war and has been accused of interfering with the lives of citizens in the United States and around the world.Due to the accusations of such actions restrictions of the NSA power have been put in place. F.I.S.A. (Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act) keeps the NSA under the laws and regulations to prevent them from “spying” on the public.

Even though the NSA has been the talk of much controversy, it has many outstanding positives. The NSA is the eyes and ears for the U.S. Government and other allied powers of the world. With the information the NSA provides, leaders of countries can be prepared for a problem before the event occurs.

" Frequently Asked Questions about the National Security Agency (NSA)." Welcome to the National Security Agency - NSA/CSS. 15 Jan Web. 02 Aug Richelson, Jeffrey T. "The National Security Agency Declassified: History,Organization and Operations." The George Washington University. 13 Jan Web. 02 Aug Gorman, Siobhan. "National Security Agency Releases History of Cold War Intelligence Activities." The George Washington University. The National Security Archive, 14 Nov Web. 02 Aug "NSA Watch." ACLU, n.d. Web. 31 Jul "Constitutional Rights Foundation." Bill of Rights in Action. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Aug "American Civil Liberities Union." Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Aug

Dr. Kurtz Dr. Tashakkori Dr. Palmer And the many others who have assisted us during the summer bridge program.