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It seems that most are from "Skeptics" who seem to want to blow off the fact that the very people who murdered over 5000 AMERICAN and International Citizens used this method to plan and coordinate their attack against our Homeland.

Your point? If you are arguing that the government should, because of these acts, forbid encryptation programs and insert backdoor keys, so sorry, but it won't fly.

This is akin to arguing that all guns, or typewriters, or knives should be restricted and registered.

The failure of the government to detect the plot of these and future terrorists, and the failure of anyone to stop the terrorists from using airliners to bring down the twins was not for a lack of regulations on the use or availability of a technology by the government.

The genie is out of the bottle. Just a basic knowledge of the cryptography of the 1800's if properly used would be enough to allow people to communicate with very secure encrypted messages. The RSA method of factoring primes is well known, and does not require anything to use other than a calculator. PGP is quite secure.

The idea that electronic surveillance is adequate intelligence is simply wishful thinking. The idea that giving the government the sole ability to control secure information transfer between individuals and maintain our freedom is ludicrous.

"Your point? If you are arguing that the government should, because of these acts, forbid encryptation programs and insert backdoor keys, so sorry, but it won't fly."

Nope, not my point at all.. Any type of technology can be used by both, the "Good side of the Force" and the "Dark Side of the Force".. Look at Fire, in the Right Hands, it can build a Nation. In the wrong hands, it can destroy a city and all who live there.

We need to be vigilant, just as firemen/women are to those who would use this technology and we must go about to do what we can to stop those who would murder from gaining from their bad use of this technology. I raised the issue that several years ago, people were panic'n over the fact that the goverment wanted a set of keys that would allow them to "Back-door" the technology so they can read the messages that "Bad Guys" are sending to each other. Alot of people thought it was an invasion of privacy and fought against it.. Not all security and encryption is created here in the United States, alot of it is developed in other contries, for the specific purpose of doing what the Terrorist are doing.. and in their hands, it is a dangerous tool, in the right hands, it can save a nation.. f

Banning completely will never work, just as you have pointed out and is a silly suggestion. No, my point is that we may want to re-think the request of our Law Enforcement and Intelligance communities have made and allow them access to particular messages under particular conditions... Just as wiretapping has brought down some really bad people, cryptotapping can do the same against the terrorist. That is my basic point in the reply you referenced.