“How many of you think that America is at war?”the Director of the National Security Agency asked a nearly full Gaston Hall. Looking out over the raised hands comprising the clear majority of the group, Lt. General Michael Hayden gave his own answer to the question: “I too believe that America is at war.”
Hayden spoke on Tuesday afternoon about the necessity of striking a balance between the privacy of individuals and the safety of the nation in a war-time situation.
Hayden described the war on terrorism as a war of values, which raises questions about how the war should be fought. “We are not fighting to protect a piece of territory. We are protecting our way of life. We have to be careful not to defend this way of life in a way that erodes it,” Hayden said.
Sponsored by the Department of Science Technology and International Affairs, the highly technical lecture focused on the specific role that technology plays in national security.
Hayden devoted the bulk of his lecture to the difficulty of extrapolating targeted terrorist intelligence information from a massive telecommunications system, while protecting the privacy of American citizens.
Hayden said that the problem was a complicated one, since those people that pose a threat to the United States use the same networks to communicate as American citizens.
“Adversaries don’t control dedicated pathways-they’re sending signals on the same network as you,” Hayden said.
Hayden assured his audience that protecting the privacy of Americans who use the telecommunications system of the United States is a prime goal of the NSA.
The NSA is a executive agency in the field of cryptology. It uses advanced technology to protect American communications networks and to detect and interpret foreign intelligence correspondence.
Tuesday’s was one of a series of public appearances that Hayden has made since joining the NSA. He expressed hope that fostering an understanding of the responsibilities of the NSA among Americans would earn the organization the public support and cooperation that is so crucial to carrying out its efforts.
The 90-minute lecture was part of the Loewy Lectureship Program in STIA. The program was established in 1999 to bring speakers to Georgetown annually to lecture on issues related specifically to the field.
