It seems to me that the NSA has someone who came up with this cipher, didn't justify it very well, and then pushed hard for it. The NSA's reputation is so bad t

It seems to me that the NSA has someone who came up with this cipher, didn't justify it very well, and then pushed hard for it. The NSA's reputation is so bad that this just won't fly, and unless they justify themselves then they just won't get a look in. Which is fine really, because it's no different to anyone else proposing a cipher to the ISO committee. In this case, the issue could well be that the NSA tried to use it's preexisting muscle to shove through their standard without a proper design and rationale document. Of course, it could also be the case that they deliberately weakened their own cipher. Either way, it's not a good look.