the agency has turned its giant ear inward to monitor the communications of ordinary Americans

Thus, since 9/11, the agency has turned its giant ear inward to monitor the communications of ordinary

Americans, many of whom are on the government’s secret watch list, now more than half-a-million names

long.

But how effective is this monumental monitoring effort in countering security threats? The NSA is faced

with an enormous and ever-expanding archive of phone calls and e-mail messages. Many experts in data

mining and analysis are skeptical about the value of collecting so much information without the ability

to understand it, as it may lead to critical clues being lost in the static.

Among those interviewed on “The Spy Factory” are former NSA, CIA, and FBI analysts and officials,

many speaking publicly for the first time. Among these is Mark Rossini, the senior FBI agent in the CIA

’s Osama bin Laden tracking unit. For the first time, Rossini tells how intelligence agency turf wars

prevented him from notifying his FBI superiors that Al Qaeda terrorists were heading for the UGGs

Sheepskin Cuff Boots with valid visas in early 2000.