While most
Americans were still sleeping or preparing for their traditional July 4th
activities, this reporter accompanied a small number of Baltimore activists to
the National Security Agency for their yearly ritual protest along Route-32 by
the entrance to the National Security Agency and the National Cryptologic
Museum.
The protest
lasted about an hour and drew a modicum of support from the light traffic
present on Route-32. Despite it being a main artery of military and NSA
employee traffic, this reporter did not witness a single hostile act or hear
single hostile vocalization. Even the NSA staff was polite and courtesy after
overcoming being surprised at the arrival of protesters. The complaints of the
protesters were heard and taken down, along with the information they were
willing to provide.
The protesters were greeted by a security
officer who went by the moniker “SDO.” Packing heat and clad in an NSA polo and
dingy cargo pants that telegraph SDO’s mistaken-belief that he wasn’t going to
interact with supervisor staff or public, SDO was scrupulous polite and
brazenly mendacious, often in the same
statement. During a brief kerfuffle over
the placement of a protester with mobility issues, SDO informed us that he
couldn’t check the claim of a protester that she had been allowed to sit in the
contested spot during previous protest because, SDO said, “there was nobody
else on duty.” While mouthing this, at least three NSA security vehicles were
seen patrolling the area. Not that ocular confirmation was necessary; there was
simply no way the NSA was leave the security of the most important intelligence
site in the Western World in the hands of the newest member of the NSA’s Office
of Security.
Eventually a
compromise on the positioning of the disabled protester was reached and the
incident quickly set aside. This moment of forgiveness lubricated by the
arrival of bottled water, provided gratis by the National Security Agency
itself. In this reporter’s years of gawking at, participating in, or listening
to the stories of others involved in protests, this marks the first time a
protested against organization or agency has provided refreshments to their
critics and detractors. In an era when protesters are increasingly maced,
clubbed, and target with increasingly painful weapons, this bit of civility
should be become the norm.
During the protest, two of the protesters were
interviewed and asked their views of the National Security Agency. Max Obuszewski, a self-described “big
believer in diplomacy”, said:
“I believe
the National Security Agency is a criminal organization. That as an American
citizen, I believe in the Nuremberg principles. One of the principles happens
to be that if you know of a government agency that is violating the law, you as
a citizen must take action. So I will do my little part to try and close down
this agency.”
Later,
Obuszewski criticized the NSA’s involvement in the drone strikes, particularly
the NSA’s role of providing intelligence, saying that “We the people cannot
allow these drone strikes to continue.”
When another
activist, Cindy, was asked why she was protesting, she said:
"I come every
year on Fourth of July or around Fourth of July to protest the actions of the
NSA because it is my local beast.” She then cited a desire to make the NSA’s
employees aware of her concerns,
Many people
think they are doing a good thing by working here and that they are fulfilling
a government responsibility and nothing could be further from the truth. At
best, it wastes money. It wastes an awful amount of money. In fact, an
undisclosed amount of money because no one has to tell.”
I asked
“SDO” for comment and was referred to the Public Affairs Office which has declined
to comment for this story and the allegations and complaints of the protesters
Before he became DIRNSA, John Samford was the United States Air Force director of intelligence. In late July 1952, he came to public attention when he served as the public face of an effort to debunk the belief that Washington D.C. was under attack by UFOs. Samford and the USAF argued that "sightings" were caused by temperature inversion, which is where a layer of warm, moist air covers cooler, drier air that is lower to the ground.