[1883] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: BXA denies my administrative appeal
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rick Smith)
Mon Nov 24 16:38:40 1997
In-Reply-To: <199711202354.PAA28082@servo.qualcomm.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 15:05:25 -0600
To: Phil Karn <karn@qualcomm.com>, cryptography@c2.net
From: Rick Smith <smith@securecomputing.com>
Cc: karn@qualcomm.com
At 3:54 PM -0800 11/20/97, Phil Karn wrote:
>I've met Reinsch in person and have heard him testify. I'm actually
>beginning to feel a little sorry for the guy. I certainly don't envy
>his job. He has to publicly defend -- with a straight face -- a
>government policy that even he certainly must realize is utterly
>ridiculous. Yet he must keep a straight face while the whole world
>laughs at him.
It sounds as if there are two classes of people in the Administration:
those stuck defending current policy, and those stuck with no place to go
on future policy.
I recently spoke informally with a couple of sub-Cabinet level officials on
crypto policy. Their comments indicated that the FBI et al are dominating
internal meetings on the subject with the same polarizing rhetoric they're
using in Congress. One official said that he was accused of intentionally
aiding terrorists at one of these meetings.
Rick.
smith@securecomputing.com
