Monday, July 19, 2010

Land o' Spooks . . .

TOP-SECRET AMERICA is the Washington Post's report on the burgeoning US espionage industry. According to the Post, some 850,000 Americans have Top-Secret security clearance. It could be a major cluster-fuck: how many spooks do you really need? WIRED magazine wonders, in an article on the Post's report, "Search “Top Secret America” Database of Private Spooks":

With too many analysts and too many capabilities documenting too much, with too few filters in place to sort out the useful stuff or discover hidden connections, the information overload has become its own information blackout. “We consequently can’t effectively assess whether it is making us more safe,” a retired Army three-star general who recently assessed the system tells the reporters.

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