Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

The CIA

by BooMan
Tue Dec 2nd, 2008 at 11:57:52 PM EST

There are roughly eighteen intelligence gathering agencies in the U.S. Government. Most people lazily lump them all together under the rubric of the CIA. The CIA has two main missions, and some minor ones. The CIA has an intelligence wing and and an operations wing. Most of the controversy surrounding the CIA comes from the operations wing. Under the Bush administration, both wings have come under withering criticism.

The intelligence wing is capable but it can be hijacked for political purposes. The operations wing is also capable, but it is in the business of doing unsavory things that cannot stand the light of day. Spying is a dirty business. But there's a difference between doing dirty work and doing work that violates human rights and the U.S. Constitution.

The CIA is fairly consistent in complaining that they are asked to violate the law and then blamed for violating the law. Bush's rendition and torture programs are a case in point. But the crying over left-wing criticism of the CIA is hard to take. Some good spies are going to be set back in their career track because they tortured people (or stood by and said nothing). Too bad. You're lucky we don't have a guillotine.

The CIA | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: The CIA (4.00 / 2)

Eighteen "intelligence" gathering agencies. My mind just reels.

What is gathered? What is the purpose? Who receives what is gathered? How many people are employed? What kind of people are hired? Who does the hiring? How large are the budgets? What is the hierarchy and the bureaucratic structure? How deep is the interagency competition? Or cooperation? How strong are the fiefdoms created? To what degree do people flit from government employ to private sector? Is there any regulation at all?

Do they send out Christmas cards wishing "peace on earth?"

Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music. (George Carlin)

by tampopo on Wed Dec 3rd, 2008 at 01:24:08 AM EST

Re: The CIA (4.00 / 2)

Btw - some of the agency names are still classified. The ones we know of include the NSA (whose name was classified until the sixties), the NRO, the NGIA (National Geospacial Intelligence Agency), DIA, FBI, Naval Intelligence, Air Intelligence Agency, the Energy Department's Office of Intelligence...

But one of the reasons people group these under the term "CIA" was that, as these agencies were born, the CIA made a point of trying to plant their operatives within it, giving them a much broader network of intelligence information and capabilities. So it's not wholly incorrect to refer to them all loosely as the CIA, as some do, because of that.

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

by Real History Lisa (lpeaseRemoveThis@gte.net) on Wed Dec 3rd, 2008 at 11:13:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The CIA (4.00 / 2)

If the United States would try to get along and play nicely with others and not spend so much time, effort, and money creating enemies, and "enemies" it would not need so many spies.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Wed Dec 3rd, 2008 at 03:13:04 AM EST

Re: The CIA (none / 1)

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

by Real History Lisa (lpeaseRemoveThis@gte.net) on Wed Dec 3rd, 2008 at 11:13:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The CIA (4.00 / 2)

Agreed. And then the current administration chose to believe only those snippets of intelligence that fit their preconceived notions, so the entire very expensive intelligence operation was a total waste of money.

Intelligence can be very helpful in knowing what's going on around the world. I had a friend who worked for the FBI for a couple of years reading Spanish-language newspapers and translating articles that would be useful to the FBI. I had another friend with a very murky past who replied to a blind newspaper ad that turned out to be DoD classified work; he couldn't unreply to the ad without looking highly suspicious, and the DIA investigation that followed was amazingly thorough (and also fair).

The key to the intelligence agencies is the direction they're given. No more wasting staff and money on infiltrating Quaker antiwar activists.

by Joyful Alternative on Wed Dec 3rd, 2008 at 12:03:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The CIA (4.00 / 2)

Yes, I agree. And I firmly believe that the overwhelming majority of the U.S.'s enemies are of its own making as a result of the way it treats and interacts with other countries.

And reading foreign language newspapers and listening to foreign language media is a very good thing if you use it to know what is going on, how people are thinking in other countries in order to know how to improve relations with the country and its people WITH ITS INTERESTS AND MUTUAL BENEFIT IN MIND instead of how to subvert and undermine another country's interests in order to further your own.

Amazing how different the effect is when your goal is cooperation and not domination.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Wed Dec 3rd, 2008 at 12:33:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The CIA (none / 1)

Right. Our most successful operations have been where the long term interests of all parties have been involved. Our least successful lead to later horrors. Iran is still mad at us for how we deposed their democratically elected leader and installed the Shah. And rightly so!!

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

by Real History Lisa (lpeaseRemoveThis@gte.net) on Wed Dec 3rd, 2008 at 01:31:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The CIA | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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