CIA Hypocrisy

[George Maschke (Guest)]

The CIA website includes a page entitled, "Empolyment at CIA - Before You Apply" on pre-employment matters:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/employment/before.htm

The page is concerned primarily with the security clearance process, and states in part:

To be selected for a position of such trust and responsibility, one must be granted a security clearance. The clearance process, which is strictly governed by rules and regulations derived from Federal statute and executive orders, begins when you accept a conditional offer of employment from the Agency. It entails a thorough examination of your life history and fitness to safeguard the nation's secrets. Think of this process as the first step in building a bridge of trust between you and the Agency. Candor is an essential ingredient in the establishment of that trust. (emphasis added)

The statement continues:

The investigation addresses comprehensively one's loyalty to the United States, strength of character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and soundness of judgment. In addition it examines one's freedom from conflicting allegiances, potential for coercion, and willingness and ability to abide by regulations governing the use, handling and protection of sensitive information.

The Agency uses the polygraph to check the veracity of information which bears upon the areas listed above. CIA's polygraph examiners  are highly trained security professionals, among the world's best in their field. They work closely and carefully with applicants to ensure that  the information upon which clearance decisions are based is as accurate as it can be and is guarded with the strictest confidence.

While the CIA claims that candor is an essential ingredient in the establishment of trust between applicants and the Agency, the CIA itself sees fit to violate the trust of applicants through the polygraph screening process, which depends on the polygraph examiner lying to and deceiving the applicant (see Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector).

This is no way to build a "bridge of trust."

Last modification: George Maschke - 03/19/01 at 04:30:58

[NoMoreSecrets]

In "Lie Behind the Lie Detector" it is nailed down rather masterfully with the quote from Plato in the introduction.

The double standard is not merely perceived but real. There is an institutional assumption that "deception" under the auspices of the institution is policy, and "deception" on behest of oneself is falsehood.

In "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence" by Marchetti and Marks they note how the CIA's unwritten policy is that any and all acts perpetrated outside the U.S. are fair game for officers and operatives. Of course, anyone in the least familiar with even a modicum of intelligence tradecraft knows that deception and lying are the _tools_ of intelligence work.

Go figure.

 :-/