Live data from Hacker News

Captured, Killed, Compromised: CIA Admits Losing Dozens of Informants

nytimes.com

11–13 of 13 posts

Re: Captured, Killed, Compromised: CIA Admits Losing Dozens of Informants

#11
post #2

The more I read about the CIA the more I am convinced it either needs to be massively restructured and reorganized, or removed completely. Reading histories of the organization I see it has consistently been incompetent and destructive, causing many failures which have then backfired on the US. Not to mention the many characters in its history who put their own ideological biases above the good of the country, which…

Even on the surface, when has giving arms to a third world paramilitary group ever worked out in the long run?

Re: Captured, Killed, Compromised: CIA Admits Losing Dozens of Informants

#12
Not to defend a murderous secret organization, but the problem is more a panopticon of data on the "users" of this data in any democracy.

Lots of information can be deduced by the words and actions of policymakers, organizational staff and lobbyists alone. If you are briefed on secret information and act on it, that process of action alone, if justified is prone to give away lots of information.

Add to that a healthy dose of jingoism, were the source on the ground is always less worthy then the voter at home and you have a perfectly distrust-able agency.

Re: Captured, Killed, Compromised: CIA Admits Losing Dozens of Informants

#13
post #2

The more I read about the CIA the more I am convinced it either needs to be massively restructured and reorganized, or removed completely. Reading histories of the organization I see it has consistently been incompetent and destructive, causing many failures which have then backfired on the US. Not to mention the many characters in its history who put their own ideological biases above the good of the country, which…

Even on the surface, when has giving arms to a third world paramilitary group ever worked out in the long run?

It worked out for the 13 colonies.
Post reply on HN