Source:
bbcThe US secret intelligence gathering systems have grown so much since 9/11 that no-one knows their exact cost, nor size, the Washington Post reports.
The newspaper says the system is now so massive and unwieldy that it is impossible to determine its effectiveness in keeping the US safe.
The report, Top Secret America, follows a two-year investigation by the paper.
Acting US intelligence chief David C Gompert has dismissed the picture painted by the report as inaccurate.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10681861
the link:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/al jazeera:
"The report shows that the intelligence bureaucracy in the US has become "so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programmes exist within it, or exactly how many agencies do the same work".
Billions of dollars were pumped into counter-terrorism and other intelligence work following the September 11 attacks, but because of the clandestine nature of the agencies involved, until now it has not been clear how the money was being spent.
John Vines, a retired army lieutenant-general who was tasked last year with reviewing the Pentagon's top secret programmes, said the "complexity of this system defies description".
Vines said in an interview with the Post, he was "not aware of any agency with the authority, responsibility or a process in place to co-ordinate all these interagency and commercial activities"."source:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/07/2010719147325889.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
