4 NSA terms you should know

A primer on acronyms

A corollary to the principle of "security through obscurity" is that acronyms and special languages add to the mystique of a privileged class with access to secret information. Since the documents given to the Guardian by Edward Snowden are replete with what people at the NSA call "Mothership speak," (see below), it's difficult for even informed observers who don't have the proper security clearance to understand what everything means. Here's a cheeky, if accurate, guide to NSA bureaucratese that the ACLU and Slate put together.

What follows is a brief guide to the four most important words and acronyms you need to know as you wade through the NSA files, past, present, and future.

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Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.