From remotely piloting drones to interrogating detainees to running a nascent CIA assassination program—contractors are now handling some of the intelligence community’s most sensitive work. In fact, 70 percent of the government’s classified intel budget goes to the private sector. The unprecedented outsourcing of national security was the topic of MoJo contributor Tim Shorrock’s fascinating 2008 book, Spies for Hire, and yesterday Shorrock and CorpWatch debuted a useful database to track the shadow intelligence community. Starting with a dozen top intel contractors, it’s very much a work in progress that will be supplemented over time, potentially with the contributions of outside researchers and tipsters. Check it out.
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