ANY INTELLIGENCE IN THE AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE ESTABLISHMENT?

     I find it questionable just how "intelligent" American intelligence is, in light of the following:  "An explosive investigative series published in the Washington Post today (7/19/10) begins, "The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work." Among the findings: An estimated 854,000 people hold top-secret security clearances.
     More than 1,200 government organizations and nearly 2,000 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in 10,000 locations.
     We speak with one of the co-authors of the series, Bill Arkin.
     AMY GOODMAN: "Top Secret America." That’s the title of an explosive investigative series published in the Washington Post this morning that’s already creating a firestorm on Capitol Hill. It starts, quote, "The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work."
     Some of the findings of the two-year investigation include more than 1,200 government organizations and nearly 2,000 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. An estimated 854,000 people—nearly one-and-a-half times as many as live in Washington, DC—hold top-secret security clearances. Many security and intelligence agencies do the same work, creating redundancy and waste. (emphasis added)
     The series by Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and Bill Arkin includes an online searchable database and locator map. PBS Frontline is producing an hour-long documentary on the investigation that will run in October.  We’re giving you information on 1,931 corporations, on 1,271 government ntities across forty-five different departments and agencies. I mean, this is an enormous amount of information. And Secretary Gates himself said to us in an interview that he can’t even get this type of information about his own office and who contracts all of the contractors within his own office. 
     So much for "transparency" since some of the powers that be did NOT want this printed.  For the rest of this article, see:  'Top Secret America' Washington Post Investigation Reveals Massive, Unmanageable, Outsourced US Intelligence System http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/19/top_secret_america__washington_post
Published on Monday, July 19, 2010 by Democracy Now!