August 8, 2008

National Intelligence's New Profit Centers

According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, of funds disbursed by the U.S. government for intelligence work about 70% go to private contractors. The overall budget, of course, remains classified. Money details aside, the process of turning intelligence into a business inexorably leads to rotten results. And combined with questions as to the overall level of government surveillance of ordinary Americans' everyday lives, it adds up to a big problem. To get at what's happening and what it all means I turned to Tim Shorrock, an independent investigative journalist and author of the recent and highly praised Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing. It was gracious of Tim to take time to talk with me, I much appreciate it, and I hope we can talk again. Total runtime an hour and ten minutes. Be aware!