Includes bibliographical references (pages 314-408) and index.

Peering from space via satellite, tapping telephone lines, computer networks, and cell phone frequencies around the globe, the National Security Agency monitors enemy states, terror suspects, and friendly nations alike. Some 60 percent of the presidents daily intelligence briefing comes from this one agency. From Eastern Europe to Korea to Iraq and Afghanistan, the NSA has played a key role in America's geopolitical successes, and some of its failures. This book follows the NSA from the tense days of the Cold War through its controversial role in the War on Terror. The Secret Sentry reveals hidden chapters of the NSA's history, including its party in dramatic events such as the Six-Day War, the Soviet downing of Korean Airlines flight 007, and the pursuit of al Qaeda, where agency intercepts were vital in capturing top lieutenants of Osama bin Laden. Aid explores the agency's involvement in the 2003 Iraqi intelligence debacle, where evidence that NSA officials called "ambiguous" was used as proof of Iraqi WMD capacity, and reveals the intense debate within the NSA over its unprecedented role, pressed by the Bush-Cheney administration, in spying on U.S. citizens since 9/11.

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