America's international supremacy comes from the hard work of its agencies at home, which provide a solid foundation for international security and diplomacy. One of these security agencies is the National Security Agency, or NSA. “By 2008, the NSA had become the largest, most expensive, and most technologically sophisticated spy organization the world had ever known” (Bamford 1). The National Security Agency is a beneficial government program and a critical component in protecting America from terrorist attacks. The National Security Agency has a relatively short history compared to many other government agencies. Years before the creation of the NSA, the world's first security services were established in various departments of the US military (“Pre-1952 Historical Timeline”). The first institution was the Code and Signals Section of the United States Navy starting in 1916 (“Pre-1952 Historical Timeline”). These began during World War I to assist in code breaking and intelligence. The Army established its own intelligence section called the U.S. Army Code and Cipher Section in 1917 (Pre-1952 Historical Timeline). As the means of communication advanced and the need for intelligence increased, the Navy created the Radio Intelligence Office in 1924 (Pre-1952 Historical Timeline”). The first direct predecessor of the NSA was the Signal Intelligence Service, formed in 1929 (Pre-1952 Historical Timeline”). In 1943, the Signal Intelligence Service was renamed the Signal Intelligence Agency ("A History of the NSA"). The Signal Intelligence Service formed the Army Security Agency in 1945, which President Truman transformed into the National Security Agency in 1952 ("A History of the NSA"). The modern National Security Agency, post-9/11, has many... .. middle of paper...... April 2014. Thiessen, Marc A. Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept America Safe and how Barack Obama is inviting the next attack. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2010. Print.United States. National Security Agency. 60 years of defending our nation. National Security Agency, December 14, 2012. Web. April 6, 2014. United States. United States Department of Justice. Office of Public Affairs. The NSA Program to Detect and Prevent Terrorist Attacks Myth vs. Fact. U.S. Department of Justice, January 27, 2006. Web. March 22, 2014. United States Constitution. Modify. IV.Zengerle, Patricia and Tabassum Zakaria. “NSA Chief: Agency Programs Prevented More Than 50 Potential Terrorist Acts.” Ed. Jackie Frank. Reuters. Reuters, June 18, 2013. Web. April 6, 2014. Zengerle, Patricia. “FBI Official Says NSA Programs Helped Foil NYSE Attack Plot.” Ed. Jackie Frank. Reuters. Reuters, 18 June 2013. Web. 6 April. 2014.