How to Fix It: Stop Outsourcing the CIA

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“Almost 60 percent of the cia is contractors doing everything from running agents to counterintelligence. There’s a lack of oversight, lack of accountability, and brain drain. Taxpayers pay a lot of money to recruit people out of college and then send them through this elaborate training procedure down at the ‘farm,’ and then they’re less than fully productive for maybe the first five years. Finally they start being productive, and that’s when they start getting recruited by these contractors, who offer them twice as much money. And taxpayers end up paying twice as much for them through these contractors.”

Read an extended interview with James Bamford about the Bush legacy here.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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