On Monday, The Washington Post unveiled its two-year investigation on the nation’s intelligence services, which have grown tremendously since the September 11 attacks in 2001. The Post reported that the world of top-secret intelligence “has become so large, so unwieldy, and so secretive” that it is difficult to determine whether the nation has indeed become safer as a result of heavy spending on these sectors of the government.
The Post also released an interactive website for their “Top Secret America” report, where it hosts an online database for readers to search for government organizations and private companies involved in top-secret intelligence work. The Post stated that the database is based entirely on public records.
There is also an interactive map of locations where U.S. intelligence work is done, as well as a graphic showing the levels of cooperation between government agencies and private contractors.
The Post estimated that around 854,000 people have “top-secret security clearance,” or access to top-secret classified information. They also said that over 1,000 government organizations and nearly 2,000 private companies are involved in “counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence,” indicating the large scope of today’s top-secret work.
Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, the reporters on the investigation, wrote, “The Post’s investigation is based on government documents and contracts, job descriptions, property records, corporate and social networking Web sites, additional records, and hundreds of interviews with intelligence, military and corporate officials and former officials.”
Additional stories will be published on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s article is on “the government’s dependence on private contractors. Wednesday’s is a portrait of one Top Secret America community,” wrote Priest and Arkin.
One of the questions raised in the series is if the heavy use of contractors may degrade the quality of the federal workforce.
Meanwhile, Washington officials were quick to react to the investigation. David C. Gompert, Acting Director of National Intelligence, said in an official statement released today, “The reporting does not reflect the Intelligence Community we know. We accept that we operate in an environment that limits the amount of information we can share. However, the fact is, the men and women of the Intelligence Community have improved our operations, thwarted attacks, and are achieving untold successes every day.”
The Post also released an interactive website for their “Top Secret America” report, where it hosts an online database for readers to search for government organizations and private companies involved in top-secret intelligence work. The Post stated that the database is based entirely on public records.
There is also an interactive map of locations where U.S. intelligence work is done, as well as a graphic showing the levels of cooperation between government agencies and private contractors.
The Post estimated that around 854,000 people have “top-secret security clearance,” or access to top-secret classified information. They also said that over 1,000 government organizations and nearly 2,000 private companies are involved in “counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence,” indicating the large scope of today’s top-secret work.
Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, the reporters on the investigation, wrote, “The Post’s investigation is based on government documents and contracts, job descriptions, property records, corporate and social networking Web sites, additional records, and hundreds of interviews with intelligence, military and corporate officials and former officials.”
Additional stories will be published on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s article is on “the government’s dependence on private contractors. Wednesday’s is a portrait of one Top Secret America community,” wrote Priest and Arkin.
One of the questions raised in the series is if the heavy use of contractors may degrade the quality of the federal workforce.
Meanwhile, Washington officials were quick to react to the investigation. David C. Gompert, Acting Director of National Intelligence, said in an official statement released today, “The reporting does not reflect the Intelligence Community we know. We accept that we operate in an environment that limits the amount of information we can share. However, the fact is, the men and women of the Intelligence Community have improved our operations, thwarted attacks, and are achieving untold successes every day.”
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