[r0naa]

I don't think anyone should be surprised that an intelligence agency - that has repeatedly violated its own country's law, and actively contributed to the weakening of civil rights - be guilty of this sort of negligence. That is exactly what happens when an institutions is allowed to grow unchecked, with no or little civilian oversight or consequences for the wrong-doings.

What's scary is that this kind of clueless, and technology illiterate, people are actively involved in shaping the future landscape of massive data collection.

I think we are about to witness, in the next decade, multiple "incidents" where millions, perhaps billions, of private records about innocent citizens will be leaked because of this kind of negligence.

[gilgad13]

I think people do deserve to be surprised. Competence is not the same as selflessness. Many people routinely question whether the FBI is operating for the good of the country, but most people at least believe that they are good at their job.

[sbochins]

If interested in the CIA, you should read "Legacy of Ashes". That book documents how the CIA's biggest flaw through the years has been incompetence.

[bootload]

cf: Competence "What The Khost Bombing Says About The CIA" (Robert Baer) ~ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1247377... and "A Dagger to the CIA" ~ http://www.gq.com/story/dagger-to-the-cia

[seiji]

and I would have gotten away with it too if only it weren't for my one flaw... being incompetent at everything!

[reagency]

I prefer an incompetent adversary over a competent one.

[PakG1]

How about ally? Or is it so bad now that the CIA is an adversary, rather than an ally? I am sad that's actually a question.

[x1798DE]

I'm not sure that the CIA has ever been a real ally of the people in general, but to the extent that they are, it's similar to the inclusion of the USSR in the Allied Powers during World War II.

[andreyf]

Nice rant. The last two paragraphs threw me off, though... how exactly is the CIA Director involved in shaping the future landscape of massive data collection?

[oldmanjay]

I don't mean this to seem like a flippant question; have you heard of Edward Snowden?

[andreyf]

I do mean this to seem flippant; do you realize the NSA and CIA are not the same thing?