The NSA is the largest, most secretive, and most powerful intelligence agency in the world. With a staff of thirty-eight thousand people, it dwarfs the CIA in budget, manpower, and influence. Recent headlines have linked it to the economic espionage throughout Europe and to the ongoing hunt for the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

Read from Body of Secrets about the history of the National Security Agency, from modest beginnings to its current status as the world's most powerful intelligence agency.

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