Released in response to a FOIA request, Presidential Transition 2001: NSA Briefs a New
Administration is a history of the National Security Agency’s decision to
brief- for the first time- the president-elect on the Agency, its operations,
and related matters. Twenty-three pages
in length, it is well-written, easy read with minimum redactions that provides
both a- complete- as- possible- picture of the events in question and numerous
amusing nuggets of fact. Other than some excessive background information on
the electoral process, this work is with major issue.
Among the factoids learned in this work is the fact that
Harry S Truman allowed Dwight D. Eisenhower access to SIGINT intelligence
during the intelligence briefing that occurred in 1952 campaign but not his own
party’s nominee due to Eisenhower’s prior use of COMINT/SIGINT during the
Second World War; George Bush’s enthusiasm for NSA briefings. His request:
“Great stuff! Keep it coming,” resulted in over 200 “serialized briefings”
being given to his transition; and Hubert Humphrey’s 1967
visit to the NSA was the first by a vice president and the last until Dick
Cheney arrived in 2001.
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