The Spy Who Briefed Me

Family Jewels.  Being unpopular in the NCS apparently wasn't enough for CIA Director Hayden.  In a move that will place him in the eyes of many in the ranks of former DCI John Deutsch when it comes to embarrassing the Agency, he has released hundreds of pages of secret files detailing the CIA's dirty laundry from the 1950s through the early 1970s.  Nice PR.  Stupid internal politics.  The only saving grace is that the blue-badged kids in the NCS are too young to remember any of it.

Men in Black.  This one is the single most bizarre argument against Blackwater I've seen, published by a San Diego website in opposition to the proposed training facility Blackwater West:

Six miles from the proposed Blackwater camp, northern Mexico has a serious problem with “Men in Black” who coincidentally look, dress, and act just like the Blackwater people. In Mexico, the Men in Black are kidnappers, corrupt police officers, fake federal agents, or Zetas, a narco-paramilitary group. Although Americans may still be swallowing the argument that Blackwater is a “military auxiliary” outfit, the Mexicans are not fooled about who the Men in Black are, what they do, and who they work for. That these same people are now camped out on the US border, or are somehow involved in border enforcement, will lack credibility in Mexico.

Triple Canopy Moves into K&R Biz.  Triple Canopy has announced the acquisition of Clayton Consultants, a firm that specializes in the kidnap and ransom business.  It's an unusual move for a private military corporation and I can only assume it's an attempt to diversify its revenue streams to prepare for eventual demobilization in Iraq.  I'd expect to see further acquisitions from them in the future as they attempt to build up a broader product line of security services. 

The Greatest Risk of All.  Forbes "asked 12 notable figures--in fields from showbiz to politics--what they consider to have been the riskiest moves of their lives."  Thought I'd mention this since I'm one of them, although none of the risks are as great as those faced in Iraq.  Personally, of the group, I think it was greatest risk was taken by the guy who went 69 miles above the earth in the private spaceship, but who am I to argue with good PR when I have a book to pimp?  But here's some of what they wrote:

But as far as life-threatening adventures go, R.J. Hillhouse, author of the new intelligence thriller Outsourced, may have them all beat. Hillhouse, who claims to have been approached in the past by foreign governments interested in beefing up their espionage units, offered a story about days spent working as an "independent businesswoman" in Soviet-era Europe. Among other things, the occupation saw her smuggling goods through the Iron Curtain and loan sharking Estonian mafia men. The latter arrangement would see Hillhouse become a regular at the group's Moscow hangout--until Soviet officials shut it down after a deadly shootout.

in case you're wondering, I've never really figured out how to put the loan shark to the mob on my resume.  Check out the slideshow.  It's kind of fun.

 

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Comments

[kelley b.]

Let's turn the bizarre argument inside-out and ask an obvious question: are private security concerns being hired or subcontracted to do dirty work across the border?

[R J Hillhouse]

As Freud said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

I think this one is pretty straightforward. A large revenue source is training police and military, particularly Special Forces and they have a reputation for excellence in this. (I'd feel a lot safer if my local police were trained by them and things probably would've been different at Virginia Tech had they gone through the intensive Blackwater courses.) They have private facilities and expertise that is unmatched by any local police department and training is their core business. This was long the case before the PSD work geared up in Iraq.

The center for NAVSPECWAR is Coronado in nearby San Diego, plus Camp Pendleton is close as well. It makes good business sense to locate a facility near the customer and have an option for West Coast police departments.

My guess would be it's cheap land because no one wants to have to deal with the border nightmare for security reasons of floods of illegals coming through. These guys know how to handle perimeter security, so this wouldn't be as much of an issue to them than it would to anyone else.

I think it's a clear-cut business move, not a conspiracy. Granted, these are guys I'm sure know they're way down to TJ--or they once did. But I just don't see the utility of a Forward Operating Base for Mexico other than for that reason. If that's what you want, buy land in Baja, create a local Mexican entity as a partnership for a cover and run out of there without the hassle of stumbling across US border authorities every mission. Doesn't make sense.

Smart money says, it's a stogie.

[Jeff Carr]

Watched the slide show and it left me cold. A former Microsoftie quits just before the Internet bust, making out like a bandit and becomes a philanthropist. Honorable, but hardly risky.

Or the actress who risked "being forgotten" by the media only to discover a new math proof? Oooooh, how daring of her!

Or the entrepeneur who's biggest risk is the fear that someone in China will steal her idea? Give me an effing break.

Next, someone will be calling these people "heroes" for the "risks" they've taken. Privilege will skew perspective every time.

[yadda]

http://www.zeit.de/online/2007/27/bundeswehr-persilschein

[R J Hillhouse]

Jeffery, I thought the Forbes piece gave interesting psychological insight as to what people consider risk. I did warn that the risk was nothing like those taken by those serving in Iraq etc.

In my case, since it was Forbes that was asking, I was thinking in terms of financial risk and making a large unsecured loan to an Estonian mafia buyer who'd run out of cash in East Germany, then expecting to collect in Moscow was a big financial risk, although the interest and exchange rates made it worth my while. And I did collect.

Yadda--thanks for the link. Looks like the German Special Forces conveniently lost some data...interesting article.