Table of Contents

Prologue: The Origins of the American Cryptologic Effort Against Russia 1

1 Roller-Coaster Ride: The Travails of American Communications Intelligence: 1945-1950 8

2 The Storm Breaks: SIGINT and the Korean War: 1950-1951 25

3 Fight for Survival: The Creation of the National Security Agency 41

4 The Inventory of Ignorance: SIGINT During the Eisenhower Administration: 1953-1961 45

5 The Crisis Years: SIGINT and the Kennedy Administration: 1961-1963 56

6 Errors of Fact and Judgment: SIGINT and the Gulf of Tonkin Incidents 80

7 The Wilderness of Pain: NSA and the Vietnam War: 1964-1969 105

8 Riding the Whirlwind: NSA During the Johnson Administration: 1963-1969 128

9 Tragedy and Triumph: NSA During the Nixon, Ford, and Carter Administrations 148

10 Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano: NSA During the Reagan and Bush Administrations 171

11 Troubles in Paradise: From Desert Storm to the War on Terrorism 191

12 Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory: 9/11 and the Invasion of Afghanistan 213

13 A Mountain out of a Molehill: NSA and the Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction Scandal 229

14 The Dark Victory: NSA and the Invasion of Iraq: March-April 2003 246

15 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: SIGINT and Combating the Insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan 264

16 Crisis in the Ranks: The Current Status of the National Security Agency 286

Acknowledgments 310

Notes Glossary 312

Notes 314

Index 409