Demands in this arena have only grown since the break-up of the Soviet Union, and have expanded to address other national security threats such as terrorism, weapons proliferation, and narcotic trafficking. The SAFE Act will make NSA's job of providing vital intelligence to our national leaders and military commanders difficult, if not impossible. It will effectively decontrol the export of strong encryption and greatly complicate our exploitation of foreign targets.
Intelligence is perishable.
Our nation cannot have an effective decision-making process, or a strong fighting force, or a responsive law enforcement community unless the intelligence information required to support them is available in time to make a difference. The SAFE Act will effectively decontrol encryption exports to all destinations, even to regions of instability. It will also deprive the Government of the opportunity to conduct a meaningful review of a proposed export to assure it is compatible with U.S. national security interests, and will eliminate the ability to deny an export application, even when national security concerns exist. To promote a balanced encryption policy that allows U.S. industry to continue to be the world's technology leader and that also protects our national security interests, we are engaged in an ongoing and productive dialogue with industry. The recent Administration update to the export control regulations addresses many industry concerns and has significantly advanced the ability of U.S. vendors to participate in overseas markets.