--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No NSA director did as much damage to the…" description: "\"No NSA director did as much damage to the agency as Gen. Michael V. Hayden.\" — William Binney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/william-binney-28257_agency_no-nsa-director-did-as-much-damage-to-th_253020.png" --- # No NSA director did as much damage to the agency as Gen… ![“No NSA director did as much damage to the agency as Gen. Michael V. Hayden.” quote by William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/william-binney-28257_agency_no-nsa-director-did-as-much-damage-to-th_253020.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/william-binney-28257_agency_no-nsa-director-did-as-much-damage-to-th_253020.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/william-binney-28257_agency_no-nsa-director-did-as-much-damage-to-th_253020.png) > “No NSA director did as much damage to the agency as Gen. Michael V. Hayden.” [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hayden's leadership caused significant internal damage to the NSA. **In simple terms:** Hayden hurt the NSA. Key Takeaway Consider leadership impact on agency health. Themes leadership agency damage Mood critical analytical Type political historical When to use this quote - government oversight - career management - policy reform - agency morale Key Concepts Organizational behavior intelligence community Questions to Reflect On - What leadership qualities protect agencies? - How can agencies recover from internal damage? A Different Perspective Complex factors also contributed to agency issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage/) [Director](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/director/) ## Related quotes > [We're now more than a year since my NSA revelations, and despite numerous hours of testimony before Congress, despite tons of off-the-record quotes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-re-now-more-than-a-year-since-my-nsa-revelations-and-despite/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The Sound of Music' did more damage to the industry than any other picture. Everyone tried to copy it. We were the biggest offenders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-d-zanuck/the-sound-of-music-did-more-damage-to-the-industry-than-any-other/) [Richard D. Zanuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-d-zanuck/) > [“Whether good or bad, it was I that did the damage, and the wisest rule in life, note the aftermath and how to manage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-dereste-dorcely/whether-good-or-bad-it-was-i-that-did-the-damage-and-the-wisest-rule/) Ken Dereste Dorcely > [“Did it do me any good, early in life, to believe so many things which were not true? Or did it damage me? Pouring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/did-it-do-me-any-good-early-in-life-to-believe-so-many-things-which/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) > [“And it was never the fall that killed you in the end. It was hitting the bottom that did all the damage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-x-todd/and-it-was-never-the-fall-that-killed-you-in-the-end-it-was-hitting/) G X Todd > [The BP oil spill nearly crippled our state and did damage to our coast and communities that will take years to rectify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bel-edwards/the-bp-oil-spill-nearly-crippled-our-state-and-did-damage-to-our/) [John Bel Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bel-edwards/) > [Katrina did much more damage than anything the terrorists could ever put together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/katrina-did-much-more-damage-than-anything-the-terrorists-could-ever/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [“The cliché that “everything leaks; it all comes out in the New York Times eventually” is emphatically not true, above all for sensitive compartmented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/the-clich-that-everything-leaks-it-all-comes-out-in-the-new-york/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [“The single biggest lesson of the whole Snowden fiasco is that America's own sloppiness made it vulnerable: whether to misguided whistleblowers, saboteurs or foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/the-single-biggest-lesson-of-the-whole-snowden-fiasco-is-that-america/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [It's a problem for him because he's got - like Edward VII had - nearly all his lifetime to wait until he becomes Monarch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/it-s-a-problem-for-him-because-he-s-got-like-edward-vii-had-nearly/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [I've never met Snowden, I've never spoken with him personally. 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The hardest point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/more-importantly-in-my-view-the-obama-administration-has-treated/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [I wondered to myself why no one else had seen him standing so far away, before he was suddenly, impossibly saving my life. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-wondered-to-myself-why-no-one-else-had-seen-him-standing-so-far/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“Edward: I don't know whether to put my fingers in my ears and go la-la-la or find more of your guards so we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/edward-i-don-t-know-whether-to-put-my-fingers-in-my-ears-and-go-la-la/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) ## More by William Binney > [I call people who are covering up NSA crimes traitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/i-call-people-who-are-covering-up-nsa-crimes-traitors/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [Trailblazer was the NSA's attempt to catch up with the digital age. The problem is, Trailblazer didn't do anything. As far as I know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/trailblazer-was-the-nsa-s-attempt-to-catch-up-with-the-digital-age/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [FBI wants to know everything about you, and you're not supposed to know anything about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/fbi-wants-to-know-everything-about-you-and-you-re-not-supposed-to/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [When I left NSA, it was with an understanding that you can never underestimate the power of large numbers of stupid people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/when-i-left-nsa-it-was-with-an-understanding-that-you-can-never/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [The problem with a group is, the more people you add, the lower the average IQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/the-problem-with-a-group-is-the-more-people-you-add-the-lower-the/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [You don't hear anybody talking about what FBI is doing with the NSA collected data. That's because they're doing it in secret. I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/you-don-t-hear-anybody-talking-about-what-fbi-is-doing-with-the-nsa/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [I think the FISA court's basically totally irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/i-think-the-fisa-court-s-basically-totally-irrelevant/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [The spooks are all cowards. Sunlight is the solution to these things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/the-spooks-are-all-cowards-sunlight-is-the-solution-to-these-things/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [At least 80% of fibre-optic cables globally go via the U.S. This is no accident and allows the U.S. to view all communication coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/at-least-80-of-fibre-optic-cables-globally-go-via-the-u-s-this-is-no/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [Reagan used to say that 'we're a country with a government.' Well, now we're a government with a country, and we're making everybody else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/reagan-used-to-say-that-we-re-a-country-with-a-government-well-now-we/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-nsa-is-total-population-control/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [We're not getting a good return on investment on all that money we're pumping into the intelligence community. One of the first things I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/we-re-not-getting-a-good-return-on-investment-on-all-that-money-we-re/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [Data is not intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/data-is-not-intelligence/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [You've got the NSA doing all this collecting of material on all of its citizens - that's what the SS, the Gestapo, the Stasi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/you-ve-got-the-nsa-doing-all-this-collecting-of-material-on-all-of/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [The NSA's vision statement is: keep the problem going so the money keeps flowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/the-nsa-s-vision-statement-is-keep-the-problem-going-so-the-money/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) [Explore all 19 William Binney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) ## More Agency quotes > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In 1949 there was a new thing called Television, to which my agency and advisers opposed as a performance medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/in-1949-there-was-a-new-thing-called-television-to-which-my-agency/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I know that God loves us. He allows us to exercise our moral agency even when we misuse it. He permits us to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/i-know-that-god-loves-us-he-allows-us-to-exercise-our-moral-agency/) [Thomas S. 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If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Free agency is a gift of God…The world does not comprehend the significance of that divine gift to the individual. It is as inherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/free-agency-is-a-gift-of-god-the-world-does-not-comprehend-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. 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These days, though, I'm trying to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-doescher/i-do-a-lot-of-writing-in-my-capacity-as-the-creative-director-for-a/) [Ian Doescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-doescher/) > [Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/unfortunately-corruption-is-widespread-in-government-agencies-and/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) Browse all 1,225 Agency quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No NSA director did as much damage to the agency as Gen. Michael V. 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