The underbelly of intelligence

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2008 | by Steve Weinberg

Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing

By Tim Shorrock

Simon & Schuster, 437 pages, $27

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U.S. government agencies that collect "intelligence" (the word carries an ironic ring because so much of the information is outdated or incorrect) about the nation's alleged enemies employ tens of thousands of people.

Those same agencies, with acronyms such as CIA, NSA (National Security Agency) and NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) spend billions on salaries, travel, buildings and equipment. Despite all those resources, the agencies spend far more on private contractors, who carry out large chunks of the spying without strict supervision.

Freelance investigative journalist Tim Shorrock has...