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Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by kunai on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:02PM (#5885536)
This is going to sound dickish, but technically it's "the NSA," not just "NSA".

"National Security Administration doesn't need Microsoft to break into computers." vs "The National Security Administration doesn't need Microsoft to break into computers."

Too much of a tangent, perhaps?

Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by dfc on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:45PM (#5885905)
Tangent or not I'm interested. I think its less settled than you think. In fact I was always on the opposite team; its "NSA/DoD/DoE did x" just like it is "IBM did x" and not "the IBM did x."

I did enough research to conclude that it was not a settled issue. Its clear that if the initials were lower case and referred to a generic agency that deals with national security it would be "the national security agency" similar to the "the fishing tackle section of a sporting goods store." On the other hand a gander at DoD's style guide[1] makes it clear that they do not like the "the."

I'd love to see why you think its opposite. That's not dickish, that's a desire to answer a question that's been nagging me for a long time.

[1] http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/writing/Writing_St...

From the english.SX:

"Is it proper to use “the” before the name of a government organization?" http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/76976/is-it-prope...

"Using the definite article with acronyms and initialisms" http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/30596/using-the-d...

"Definite article with proper nouns, titles followed by a common noun" http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/2327/definite-art...

"The definite article usage with objects that have names" http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/16988/the-definit...

"Capitalising the definite article in names" http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/84288/capitalisin...

Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by hga on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:56PM (#5885935)
Maybe it is clearer if we note this as proper usage: "the IBM corporation."

Similarly, "the Department of Defense", "the National Security Agency".

Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by dfc on Saturday June 15, 2013 @03:07PM (#5885972)
Frankly that does not make it any clearer to me. Which could be because I am bad at the nitty gritty of english syntax. But most importantly, with all due respect you are not Strunk and White. I am looking to a clear definitive reference and in the future I cant say "I know it is written this way because hga said so."
Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by hga on Saturday June 15, 2013 @04:07PM (#5886142)
Well, you can start here for a well referenced treatment of these nouns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_noun
Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by dfc on Saturday June 15, 2013 @04:47PM (#5886254)
The reason your comment did little to clear things up is because it relied on spelling the agencies/organizations names out. It is clear that the rules change for acronyms and abbreviations.
Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by rdl on Saturday June 15, 2013 @07:24PM (#5886648)
DoD vs. DOD is a big enough debate :)
Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by ErsatzVerkehr on Sunday June 16, 2013 @05:14AM (#5887926)
Not true. It's a proper noun, like "McDonald's". It just happens to also sound like a descriptive phrase. You'll find that, inside the agency, it is just "NSA" and not "the NSA". This is true for most "three letter agencies".

Don't believe it? See what the agency calls itself on its website: http://www.nsa.gov/

Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by adoyle on Saturday June 15, 2013 @02:01PM (#5885772)
National Security Agency, not Administration ;)
Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by tptacek on Saturday June 15, 2013 @01:03PM (#5885541)
Doesn't sound dickish. You're probably right. Force of habit.
Re:CBS confirms reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer breached by silentOpen on Saturday June 15, 2013 @03:52PM (#5886097)
I believe NSA refers to themselves without the article when the organization's name is abbreviated.