“The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control”
This was the warning conveyed by NSA whistleblower William Binney last week when he spoke at a conference in London that was held by the Centre for Investigative Journalism.
And he should know what he’s talking about, because William Binney used to work for the NSA as a code-breaker. He’s a 32 year veteran with the agency who worked against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but resigned after September 11th.
His reason for resigning?
He was disgusted by the Bush administration’s move toward total surveillance following the terrorist attacks.
As you know by now, the widespread surveillance that started during the Bush years has only gotten worse under the Obama administration, and has reached a point where we’re alienating long-time allies like Germany.
William Binney’s revelations are particularly troubling because he revealed that the NSA is collecting and storing at least 80% of all audio calls made by American citizens. The agency denies the practice, of course.
In 2005, following a New York Times article that exposed the NSA’s warrantless eavesdropping program, Binney found himself on the receiving end of FBI interviews and a raid at his home. His computer and business records were confiscated and his security clearance was revoked, forcing him to shut down a business that he ran at the time. Seems kind of reactionary for a government that’s only interested in protecting us from extremist boogeymen, doesn’t it?
Why Total Population Control?
Whenever the issue of surveillance comes up, we’re always told that the increasing omnipresence of cameras and other surveillance tools are “for our safety”.
It doesn’t matter if it’s for something like local traffic, or communication with other countries… our activities in the real world – over the phone and online – have to be monitored so that the government can protect us from something that’s less likely to kill us than a bolt of lightning or choking on a pretzel.
Still, the myth of a terrorist attack happening any time, in any place, is one that gets perpetuated over and over again.
I think H.L. Mencken said it best:
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and hence clamorous to be led to safety by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
When being afraid of godless communists was no longer in vogue, the shadow of ever-present terrorism had to be made to loom over the heads of Americans in order to keep the illusion going and the people marching to the beat. It has to be combated with an ever-present watchful eye controlled by those who know what’s best for us.
That’s not say that the threat doesn’t exist, of course it does. But creating entire departments while inflating the budgets and collective reach of existing agencies to fight an enemy whose presence isn’t as extensive as the public is led to believe doesn’t do much.
All it really does is erode the liberties of the people who are supposed to be protected while bloating the egos of those agency heads and the politicians backing them.
When speaking to Germany’s parliament, William Binney said that he felt as though the NSA had a “totalitarian mentality”. With unchecked power to do whatever it wants and no fear of consequences, is it any wonder why?
Keep your eyes open,
Ryan Stancil
