by the way NSA...

[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

This amplifies Perry's post on the annual intelligence black 
budget of $28 billion.

NY Times, November 25, 1993:

. . . the black budget is estimated to be nearly $28 billion 
this year.  The money is hidden under falsified line items in 
the Pentagon's budget.

The secret budget finances the National Security Agency, which 
conducts electronic eavesdropping; the National Reconnaissance 
Office, which builds spy satellites; the Central Intelligence 
Agency, and a host of military intelligence activities.

. . . the CIA spends less than 15 per cent of the total 
espionage budget.  Pentagon agencies spend almost all the rest.

At the CIA, Mr. Woolsey voiced doubts about disclosing the sum, 
saying it would lead to a debate over its constituent elements.

End quotes.


And there is more than this budget covers.  For all kinds of 
intelligence costs (and crypto business opportunities) see 
Jeffrey T. Richelson's The US Intelligence Community, 1989, 
ISBN 0-88730-226-2.