Hayden's Talk Analysis

#context, #emotionalpersuasion, #confidence, #perspective
About two weeks ago, I went to a discussion with General Michael Hayden at the Commonwealth Club. Hayden is the only person to have served as a director of both the CIA and the NSA. The talk he gave was about “American intelligence in an age of terror,” specifically discussing portions of his new book, which bears the same name. For sake of our discussion, we will focus on only one primary facet of Hayden’s talk--how we should view the role the intelligence community plays in everyday life.
One of the first aspects in addressing this was a distinction Hayden made between normal national operations and operations concerning national security. Of course, the question was asked whether the NSA really could listen to our phone calls. Hayden said this was not a reality, but that the NSA does in fact collect metadata (i.e., phone number, duration of call, time of call) on certain selected calls. This statement led into the broader conversation concerning extent of privacy as a freedom. This is where Hayden made the distinction. He said that if

there were no threats in the world then what they do would be unnecessary and unethical. However, because there are so many threats in this world, collection of information through appropriate channels (inferred to be ethical channels) allows the NSA’s and CIA’s actions to be necessary and ethical.
Another point Hayden made was that we should not view CIA and NSA employees with the stigma we generally associate with these “spies.” He says they are normal people with nearly normal jobs.

Additionally, Hayden related an anecdote about how he would go to his grandchildren’s school or sports events and see employees of these agencies among the crowd of parents and relatives. He said this was proof more than anything--that you could have someone as a friend and have your children play with his or her children, causing direct interactions with this person, and then unwittingly be disgusted by the same person (e.g., a CIA employee) because of false portrayals in the media. Hayden’s point can be summarized by the old adage: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This refers to both the depiction of intelligence employees, as well as the people we know and interact with every

day.
Hayden’s book--at least from this live preview--seems informational, if not slightly biased. However, Hayden’s experience is truly unmatched, especially considering he is the only person to have been director of both the CIA and NSA, as well as the fact that he was the NSA director during 9/11. He said the only reason he persevered through his many years of service was because, even in the worst scenarios, he kept his head up. In another anecdote, he recalls being asked by the Secretary of Defense after 9/11 what the NSA could do to help re-secure the nation. He responded they could do anything necessary. This confidence was echoed in Hayden’s talk at the Commonwealth club. Between his distinguished background, remarkable success, and overall demeanor, General Michael Hayden affected in the audience his credentials as one of the most experienced sources on American intelligence in the world (i.e., they should buy his book).