From: Alex Strasheim <cp@proust.suba.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 09:25:04 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Denning's misleading statements
In-Reply-To: <ad2ff0ab010210043115@[205.199.118.202]>
Message-ID: <199601280108.TAA05461@proust.suba.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text


(Tim May said:)

> One of the interesting things about the whole crypto debate, going back at
> least to the Clipper announcement (and actually some months before) has
> been that the pro-restrictions, pro-GAK side of the argument has almost no
> defenders! Except for David Sternlight, Dorothy Denning, and Donn Parker
> ("attack of the killer Ds"?), there are almost no public spokesmen for the
> pro-restriction, pro-GAK side.

This is interesting.

My theory is that they know they can't win a fair and open debate, so they
force us to fight straw men and try to bamboozle politicians with
ritualistic secret briefings.  The secrecy adds credibility to weak
arguments and heads off those of us who would try to point up the flaws in
them.  You can't critique what you haven't seen.

I think that one of the planks of the pro-crypto platform ought to be a 
call for the NSA to explain and defend their position publicly, and to 
engage in a dialogue on a moderated mail list.