Essay on the Black Chamber

The black chamber also known as The Cipher Bureau was founded in 1919 immediately after the World War 1. It was headed by Herbert Yardley who was an American cryptologist. He was also the one who established the black chamber organization. Herbert was the commander of the arm cryptographic section of military intelligence during the 1st world war which was later disbanded after the war. The history of the black chamber is vast and dates way back before it was founded and goes on until its closure.

In essence, the U.S. started the Great War which is also the World War 1 in 1918. During this time, the country was unprepared for war with only about three hundred thousand soldiers. It had an interrupt service of inadequate experience in both creating and breaching codes. During the war, the United States Army created a Cryptologic service which was mainly focused on identifying foreign communications using signals equipment. It was necessary as the military at the time primarily depended on information that came from different countries and in foreign languages. Notably, the US Cryptologic service at the time was equal to all other in the world. However, with time, the army released it from military service.

At the completion of the war, the United States defense force was forced to amend the steep budget drops. It was because Washington attempted to return the military through the administration to pre-war stages of activity. During this time, Washington succeeded in eliminating and downsizing most of the essential modern warfare programs the government had put in place during the First World War 1. The Cryptologic service which was the primary listening in service that enabled operations to save American lives in France and other countries possible was one of the services that were eliminated.

However, when the army eliminated the Cryptologic service and its functions, the citizen side with the help of the government established an organization that continued with the services. It was the first code-breaking organization that came at a time when the country was experiencing its first peacetime after the Great War at the national level intelligence agency in history. The state division primarily sponsored the organization. However, the navy and the army shared in the budget.

At the time Herbert Yardley was appointed as the head of the civilian organization. Formally, he was a code clerk for the state government and a chief commander of the military intelligence in the Cryptologic service during the war. He was a telegrapher, and his steady job as a code clerk enabled him to take notice of the incoming messages in cipher. The messages were the beginning of major concern that left him wondering if the cryptosystem was enough to protect American secrets during such a sensitive period. At this, he checked if the division cables and realized that the confidential information was not safe. The situation motivated him to learn more about cryptanalysis until when he became chief of MI-8 in the coding sector.

However, although the army discharged most of its divisions and projects after the warfare, the citizen side powered by the administration came together and began to appreciate the potentials of communication in intelligence. Therefore, based on his good leadership and acquired knowledge throughout and after the warfare, Herbert was chosen the head of the unmatched civilian group. At the time he was working as the head of the private agency, the acting secretary of the state together with the war secretary made an agreement which created the Cipher Bureau.

Nevertheless, the Cipher Bureau original concept required about one hundred thousand dollars annual appropriation. The army was to provide sixty percent of the amount. But the program concentrated more on diplomatic decrypts which the Army did not have interest in. As a result, the army's contribution to the program was cut, and funding of the Cipher Bureau was left solely to the state department. With Herbert working with the State Department as the chief of the code section, during the time that Cipher Bureau was founded.

While working at the organization, he brought together staff members who began operations in New York City. He moved operations out of Washington due to the security of the sensitive information that the organization had concerning the security issues in the county. The second reason is that several cable companies with international connections were located in New York. Later after the Cipher Bureau started operations in the new location under the leadership of Yardley, the organization was able to solve the systems of about twenty-four countries. Although this cannot be verified because the accounts of the association no longer exist, it is known that Herbert provides valuable information about the rebellion on the southern border from Mexican communication.

The black chamber is commonly recognized for its significant work during the Washington conference which attempted to limit the size of postwar armadas. The Cipher Bureau during this conference produced decrypt intelligence information that was crucial at the time. However, some of the information such as the Japanese rule discussion over its exchanging position at the conference was timely while some other translated information was late and already coved and revealed in the press. But still, even the information that came late was used to verify by confirming or refuting the media reports that validity was unknown.

During the conference, Herbert with his staff unraveled the code used by the Japanese legislatures to the discussion. Additionally, when Washington contract forced a boundary on resources ship capacity by primary powers, the Cipher Bureau under the expertise of Herbert helped the United States representatives inspired Japan to receive its smallest position instead of holding out for a greater level of tonnage.

The black chamber elections in 1928 saw Herbert elected as the secretary general of the state together with Henry Stimson. Henry was a soaring person in the foreign and protection policy. Henry, when appointed to power, made the choice to remove Cipher Bureau. His resolution was likely grounded on the financial plan consideration that the program provided. However, he explained that is was in good faith for international relations. In Yardley (2013), Henry described this termination in a single sentence saying, "Gentlemen do not read other gentlemen's mail."

Herbert on the other hand firmly opposed his move and Henry had eliminated Cipher Bureau which was a core part of the county's safety solely for moralistic reasons. Henry on the other side agreed Herbert's words by first accepting that that is precisely what he had done. But Henry counter-argued that Cipher Bureau was a heavy consumer in the intelligence sector of the state department. He also added that it was only necessary at the time of war. He, however, continued to add that it was unacceptable to spy on other countries during peaceful times.

The second reason that led to the resolution to disband the black chamber was the reformation of the armed forces Cryptologic divisions in the United States. The reorganization saw sign corps assume concern for cryptology from army intelligence. The army desired to reconstruct it from the scratch all the way up in order to aid the needs of the military better and more efficiently. The signal corps made an offer to Herbert to join the new cryptology. In 1929, all the workforces of Cipher Bureau were paid three months' compensation fee and then terminated. It was possible to quickly dismiss them because they were employed using private funds that meant no rehire rights or service status.

The Cipher Bureau primary duties were to identify and examine foreign communications during times of crises and also helped during important events to know the prior-plan of the different countries. Secondly, the organization recognized alternations in the transmission modes and essential tips and guidelines to suitable authority. Thirdly, the black chamber provided translation expertise to analysts who then carefully examined the situation and come up with an appropriate measure to put in place. Lastly, the Cipher Bureau provided translation and transcription from foreign communication that enabled the United States understand any plan by foreign countries beforehand.

Therefore, the Cipher Bureau significantly impacted the United States during the Great War as it offered a means to spy on foreign nations that were mainly rival nations which enabled them to strategize on the best way to end the war. After the Great War was over and peace reigned, the government through the civilians used the black chamber to spy on other nations to know and examine their communications to plan on the forward before the meetings and the decisions. Although it was not a good strategy when it came to international relations, it worked for United States government while negotiating business deals and other important deals.

To conclude this discussion, the black chamber was founded in 1919 by Herbert. It ran all the war from the time of the Great War till the end in 1929. It was an organization that mainly focused on spying on foreign nations operations and used these communications to plan the way forward for the country during times of war and also during business summits and conferences that involved foreign nations. However, the organization was eliminated by Henry who claimed that it was too expensive for the state department. He also claimed that it was no longer significant as the war was over and the US did not need it during peaceful times.

Reference

Yardley, H. O. (2013). The American black chamber. Naval Institute Press.