The corporate takeover of U.S. intelligence

The U.S. government now outsources a vast portion of its spying operations to private firms — with zero public accountability.

By Tim Shorrock
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/06/01/intel_contractors/index1.html

June 1, 2007

More than five years into the global "war on terror," spying has become one of the fastest-growing private industries in the United States. The federal government relies more than ever on outsourcing for some of its most sensitive work, though it has kept details about its use of private contractors a closely guarded secret. Intelligence experts, and even the government itself, have warned of a critical lack of oversight for the booming intelligence business.

On May 14, at an industry conference in Colorado sponsored by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. government revealed for the first time how much of its classified intelligence budget is spent on private contracts: a whopping 70 percent. Based on this year