Privacy–United States
Total Information Awareness
Source: Government Executive
New Article, “Lightning Rod” (John Poindexter and Total Information Awareness)
From the article, “John Poindexter wants to help government predict the future. But how does he escape his past?… Poindexter bristles when people call him a lightning rod. He prefers ‘controversial,’ a word he ascribes to himself, his ideas and his deeds. But like a lightning rod, Poindexter takes a hit to protect those around him. In July 1987, he swore to the congressional committee investigating Iran-Contra that President Reagan never knew about the money he sent to the contras. Had Reagan known, lawmakers might have impeached him – and Poindexter says he recognized that. “The buck stops here with me,” Poindexter famously told committee members during the nationally televised hearings. Years later, when his presence imperiled his pet project, TIA, Poindexter took the fall and resigned, though by doing so he didn’t save all of the system. To some, Poindexter remains a pariah, but some technology executives and former federal officials call him a visionary.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 28th, 2004 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.