Abolish the NSA and CIA to Strengthen Privacy Rights for Americans

Citizens today understandably expect their government to safeguard them against various threats, such as domestic terrorism, foreign aggression, and espionage. This responsibility primarily falls on the shoulders of 18 federal intelligence agencies, with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) being the most influential. The CIA’s mission is to preempt threats and enhance U.S. national security, while the NSA’s motto emphasizes defending the nation and securing its future. However, these secretive organizations inherently resist oversight, raising significant concerns about accountability. The Roman poet Juvenal’s question about who watches the watchers highlights this essential challenge, particularly regarding the potential abuse of power by these agencies.

The intelligence community has a history of significant failures that raise questions about its effectiveness. Notable instances include the CIA’s inability to predict critical events such as North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and the rise of groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS. The agency has also been involved in controversial operations like the Bay of Pigs invasion and the flawed justification for the Iraq War, highlighting its propensity for errors and misjudgment. On the other hand, the NSA faced scrutiny following Edward Snowden’s revelations about the agency’s misuse of surveillance powers, particularly concerning the warrantless collection of American citizens’ communication data under the USA PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

In 2020, the expiration of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act ended the bulk collection of domestic phone records, yet vulnerabilities to privacy remained with the expansion of Section 702 in April 2024. This legislative change allows increased access to private communications through various service providers, raising alarms about potential overreach and infringements on civil liberties. Previous warnings about unchecked surveillance powers suggest that once these capabilities are fully deployed, they could become resistant to rollback, thereby sacrificing essential freedoms in the name of security. Critics argue that the accumulated failures and risks associated with these agencies outweigh any purported benefits, raising the question of whether they should exist at all.

An alternative would be the abolition of agencies like the CIA and NSA, which some analysts posited would not leave the U.S. without critical intelligence capabilities. The Defense Intelligence Agency could continue to handle codebreaking, geospatial analysis, and foreign surveillance without the need for covert operations or espionage. The argument posits that most intelligence gathering necessary for policymaking today comes from open sources rather than clandestine activities. Historical trends illustrate that open-source intelligence remains the predominant method for policymakers in assessing both state and nonstate actors’ actions.

Calls to dismantle the CIA are not new; Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan proposed such action in 1995, arguing that the agency undermined the Department of State’s role in foreign policy. He believed that restoring information gathering and analysis to the State Department could close the gap created by the CIA’s existence, allowing for a more diplomatic approach to gathering critical intelligence. This restructuring would promote greater accountability and align intelligence activities with U.S. values and long-term strategic goals, reducing the risks presented by secretive operations and enhancing national security.

By abolishing the CIA and NSA and reframing intelligence activities within the State Department, citizens’ civil liberties could be better protected. This shift would not only mitigate the risks of overreach but also lead to a more aligned, principled effort in international relations. Bringing intelligence gathering back to the forefront of diplomacy could improve transparency and accountability in the U.S. government’s actions, resonating with the core democratic values that underlie the nation’s identity. Ultimately, the proposal advocates for a reconstruction of the intelligence community to ensure safety without compromising individual freedoms, paving the way for a more responsible governmental approach to security and foreign policy.