Spy stuff

[Wag]

I picked up the Danger Man S1 DVD box set the other day and am enjoying it. It's about a Nato intelligence officer during the Cold War.

Supposedly we're "at war" now, as we were then- but it seems we have no spies anymore? Shouldn't there be people "on the ground" in Iraq (before we invaded), Iran, Syria, N Korea, etc?

What happened? What's the state of American intelligence like now compared to the Cold War?

 

[no0b]

Supposedly we're "at war" now, as we were then- but it seems we have no spies anymore? Shouldn't there be people "on the ground" in Iraq (before we invaded), Iran, Syria, N Korea, etc?

Your logic has failed you....

 

[Wag]

You know, I'm really beginning to hate this board. Some people are extremely nasty for no reason at all. If you think you know better, fine- give an answer, explain why. I'm trying to start a discourse here, and don't appreciate insults or personal attacks.

 

[Witling]

The problem with real spies is that the work pretty well against people who are a lot like you are. But the CIA has had trouble recruiting people to live under the conditions experienced by the people we're interested in. I mean, imagine you're an Afghani. You get over here and you're driving a cab. The CIA comes to you and says, "We want you to go back into Afghanistan and spy for us. You might get shot, if not by them then by us. You'll have to live in the field with the rebels. They feed 1/2 a pound of rice a day and you get an onion to chop into it on Sunday. You'll sleep on the ground, pretty much give up bathing. Forget about sex. How does that sound?" You see the problem.

 

[no0b]

Originally posted by: Wag
You know, I'm really beginning to hate this board. Some people are extremely nasty for no reason at all. If you think you know better, fine- give an answer, explain why. I'm trying to start a discourse here, and don't appreciate insults or personal attacks.

You said it seems we have no spies anymore.

How the fvck do you know this? Do you work for the CIA? The whole part of being a spy is not being seen.
Thus by everyone not seeing them either there are no spies or they are doing their job. So what is your evidence to support we don't have any spies in " in Iraq (before we invaded), Iran, Syria, N Korea, etc?".

I was mearly trying to point out your flaw but you couldn't figure it out so I had to spell it out.

 

[Wag]

So you're saying the CIA recruits people off the streets? America has a sizable enough Arab population, not to mention Asian to draw from- well educated citizens.

No- I was asking a question. And after a few responses from arrogant asses like you- I'm done with this board for a while. Congratulations.

 

[Bowfinger]

Originally posted by: no0b

Originally posted by: Wag
You know, I'm really beginning to hate this board. Some people are extremely nasty for no reason at all. If you think you know better, fine- give an answer, explain why. I'm trying to start a discourse here, and don't appreciate insults or personal attacks.

You said it seems we have no spies anymore.

How the fvck do you know this? Do you work for the CIA? The whole part of being a spy is not being seen.
Thus by everyone not seeing them either there are no spies or they are doing their job. So what is your evidence to support we don't have any spies in " in Iraq (before we invaded), Iran, Syria, N Korea, etc?".

I was mearly trying to point out your flaw but you couldn't figure it out so I had to spell it out.

You may not be a jerk, but you're certainly acting like one. You didn't even read his post; he explained what he meant by "no spies anymore." It's a reasonable question and didn't justify your gratuitous flames.

 

[Bowfinger]

Originally posted by: Wag
I picked up the Danger Man S1 DVD box set the other day and am enjoying it. It's about a Nato intelligence officer during the Cold War.

Supposedly we're "at war" now, as we were then- but it seems we have no spies anymore? Shouldn't there be people "on the ground" in Iraq (before we invaded), Iran, Syria, N Korea, etc?

What happened? What's the state of American intelligence like now compared to the Cold War?

I'm not an expert, but I've read a little bit about this. In Iraq, for example, much of the Hussein leadership was hand-picked from people and families known to them. They were mostly from Hussein's home town of Tikrit. The inside information we did get came from defectors. As we've seen, these defectors had an agenda and didn't provide very accurate intelligence.

I believe similar factors were at play with al Qaida. Both organizations were said to be difficult to penetrate.