I have been looking over the postings about the Clipper Chip and noticed
an interesting omission from the discussion.

You all mention that the algorithm is classified and have expressed 
concerns and ideas of how to figure out the algorithm using software.

The question that I have is why cant someone take one of these chips
and reverse engineer it? I mean, take the thing to a chip testing/
analysis facility, one with a decent electron microscope. Just pry
off the top of the chip and start scanning it with the electron
microcope and figure out the circuitry. I remembered a place that I use
to work for had one of these facilities that they used to analyze chips
that we accidently blew out while running tests. They could actually find
the area that was fried and show us where in the circuit it was. 

I am sure that many companies and universities must have these facilities
and that the potential is there, especially at a university where the
security at such a facility is looser, for someone to take a clipper
apart and analyze it?

What can the government do to prevent this? Start taking away all 
microchip analysis facilities and electron microscopes??