Do you think the CIA helps or harms the USA?

[SpellAndShield]

Generally speaking most of their bungles actions end up with us being rewarded with Blowback which is self-perpetuating, which once again justifies the need for them to intervene; a dangerous, incompetent terrorist organisation.

[bben46]

I think you have missed the entire point of the CIA. The only time you hear anything about them is when something does go wrong. If a CIA operation goes right, no one ever hears about it. (until 30 years later when somebody writes a book) Every country has a secret group that operates outside of their countries border, and usually the law as well. We usually call them spies - That's what James Bond was, Britain's version of the CIA, (MI5)

Iran has SAVAK

Australia - ASIO

Canada - CSIS

China- MSS

France - DGSE

Finland - SUPO

even Costa Rica which doesn't have an army has their DIS

 

Most countries suppress any news relating to activities of their secret spy organizations. The US prints them on the front page.

[Aurielius]

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/Aurielius/CIA_Memorial_Wall.jpg

 

Each of these stars represent a fellow countryman who did extraordinary service for the nation at the cost of their lives, all done without public acclaim. their successes are only known to their compatriots whereas the failures are put on the front page of the New York Times. No modern nation can survive long without intelligence services, that the gathering of intelligence is an art not a science accounts for the occasional blunder, be thankful that their successes out weigh their mistakes.

[Kazakovich]

Wether the CIA harms or help the United States as a whole, I really can't say. However, they have certainly caused a fair amount of harm on the world as a whole. We may never know exactly how much innocent blood they have spilled, directly or indirectly, but it's undeniably a staggering body-count.

 

It's fascinating that an agency like this can find it prudent to destabilize an entire nation (several, come to think of it) and install a ruthless dictator (once more, several), all to secure cheap goods and greater influence. Not only that they have the power to do that, but also the moral ability. Dictatorship, opression, torture and murder seem to all be acceptable practices, as long as the perpetrator are recognized by the Pentagon, and as long as they keep the lash aimed at the soar backs of their people.

 

In these turbulent days under the war on terror, their influence certainly haven't lessened... It didn't come as much of a shock, the revelation about their hidden prison camps and illegal transports of suspects across Europe. Honestly, I've had nightmares about these men. It seems they can do what they wish to anyone, and no-one will ever know.

[marharth]

Both.

 

I think the CIA needs to be merged with the FBI, so that the CIA can work as a federal police group on US soil and not have to deal with the FBI about that kind of stuff.

 

bben is right though, if a CIA operation goes right no one will hear about it. CIA operations always need to be covered up.

[SpellAndShield]

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/Aurielius/CIA_Memorial_Wall.jpg

 

Each of these stars represent a fellow countryman who did extraordinary service for the nation at the cost of their lives, all done without public acclaim. their successes are only known to their compatriots whereas the failures are put on the front page of the New York Times. No modern nation can survive long without intelligence services, that the gathering of intelligence is an art not a science accounts for the occasional blunder, be thankful that their successes out weigh their mistakes.

 

Intelligence is one thing; helping or directly being involved in the overthrow of legitimate governments, assassinations unnecessary meddling. I don' think that is intelligence gathering. Was it necessary to overthrow Allende on September 11 1973 and install Pinoche?, something which led to thousands of unnecessary deaths, torture and imprisonment? or putting in Suharto in Indonesia and supplying him with arms so he could commit genocide? There is no ethical argument that can be offered in favour of such actions or the deaths that resulted from them. None of that is necessary and that is not intelligence gathering but I guess they were successful in some sense.

[JimboUK]

Without the CIA the US would be blind or reliant on other nations agencies, anyway as others have said it's only the mistakes we get to hear about. Other nations services make mistakes too, our own MI6 were recently swindled out of £600,000 by a Pakistani shopkeeper for instance. :laugh:

[SpellAndShield]

Without the CIA the US would be blind or reliant on other nations agencies, anyway as others have said it's only the mistakes we get to hear about. Other nations services make mistakes too, our own MI6 were recently swindled out of £600,000 by a Pakistani shopkeeper for instance. :laugh:

 

Was overthrowing the elected Chilean government a mistake or a success?

[SilverDNA]

I stumbled upon a question this topic arouses that more or less is not answered directly and I think it is worth to answer and to question.

 

Here the question:

Is the use of the same methods and structure's as the Terrorists making the governmental organisations a terrorist too or/and is the the purpose and the outcome of actions worht partial sacrifices of freedom?

 

I think that's the main question here in focus and I think I'm not able to judge the CIA in there work because i don't know enough of their work.

What I know is about the work and a scandal of my own country's Intelligence service the "BND" ( Bundes Nachrichten Dienst)

Let me relate this scandal to you and see if it fits somehow to the question and to the CIA ( please seek out for yourself to see if there is something you can take out.

 

After 09/11 and pre Iraq War II the CIA had not much intelligence in the region of the middle east and had to relay on other cooperating intelligence services until they build up their own net work of informants.

Since the BND had loots of contacts in the middle east established the BND did suport the CIA intelligence in that region even the pre Iraq reconnaissance witch lead as it came out to a scandal because the Government was basically due to the unconfirmed mass destructions weapons against this war. in this scandal it came up that two of the BND employees in Iraq where also there to gather information about strategic targets but had further gathered intelligence on the whereabouts of possible sites of mass destruction weapons those infos where possible ( not fully proven) due to some mistake in translation or passing on information to the CIA the lead to the Iraq war II.

As this came up i felled utterly shame, because we had not participated in the war openly, but had secretly not only supported it against the own governments desissions that risked a worse relation ship to the USA only, but we had also gathered possibly the wrong informations on mass destruction weapons that lead to the war. The uproar of the press and the to mild for my own personal feelings to

 

Now i would like to ask you please to take the story and try to see the relation to the question above.

and try to compare it with that of the CIA you know and please try to answer the question then for yourselves.

 

For me it showed what happens when a governmental organisation works agains it's own government interests.

Edited January 26, 2011 by SilverDNA

[JimboUK]

Without the CIA the US would be blind or reliant on other nations agencies, anyway as others have said it's only the mistakes we get to hear about. Other nations services make mistakes too, our own MI6 were recently swindled out of £600,000 by a Pakistani shopkeeper for instance. :laugh:

 

Was overthrowing the elected Chilean government a mistake or a success?

 

Given the politics of the day it was a success, for obvious reasons the US would not have wanted another Cuba.