Letter: Enlist NSA to prevent, fight terrorism

It occurred to me when I heard of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's demand of Apple to hand over their customers' privacy rights, they should go to their brother agency, the National Security Administration.

The recent flap over NSA's spending billions of tax dollars for world surveillance (including our own citizens) had been justified as preventing and fighting terrorism. Isn't that the FBI's argument with the Apple case?

So let's have the NSA make themselves useful. Put them to work helping the FBI fight terrorism with the San Bernardino case and others. Why attack and harass Apple to do the job of a government agency that is already paid for and in place? And if the NSA is not able to assist in this noble endeavor, what good are they? Is this encryption business too much for them to handle? Has technology surpassed their usefulness?

If they can't produce what they claim is their reason for existence, shut them down.

Erin Karnik

Cedar Rapids