"America's OUTSOURCED Spy Force, by the Numbers" -- The Atlantic

[KoKo]

America's Outsourced Spy Force, by the Numbers

Philip Bump 861 Views 9:25 AM ET

Edward Snowden wasn't your traditional spy. He was, however, a very modern one, a guy who worked from a computer terminal in an office, similar to how a modern bomber pilot might control his drone. The weekend's big revelations about the NSA's biggest revealer prompt a natural question: How many Snowden-type spies with top secret security clearance are there?

There's another way in which Snowden was a modern spy. He didn't work for the government, but for a government contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden's emergence has drawn a great deal of attention to the company, about which it is almost certainly not excited. Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have stories detailing the growth of contractor dependency in the federal government, looking at Booz in particular. As does our sister publication National Journal, which quotes former NSA head Michael Hayden: "There isn't a phone or computer at [NSA headquarters] that the government owns."

That's primarily because of shifts in how the government operates. Right now, federal employees make up less than one percent of the American population.

Since 2000, the number of people employed by the federal government has stayed generally flat.

As the Journal notes in its article, that number is dwarfed by those holding security clearance.

As of last October, nearly five million people held government security clearances. Of that, 1.4 million held top-secret clearances. More than a third of those with top-secret clearances are contractors, which would appear to include Mr. Snowden.

Or:

The number of people holding security clearance is equal to about 1.6 percent of the population of the country.

One does not have to be an American citizen to hold clearance, however. The State Department explains the process for receiving such clearance, which comes in three types: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret, the highest level. To receive clearance, one must fill out Standard Form 86, which includes questions for those who are not citizens.

That means that there are an estimated 450,000 people beyond those that work for Booz who have top secret clearance. Again, the Times:

“The national security apparatus has been more and more privatized and turned over to contractors,” said Danielle Brian, the executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit group that studies federal government contracting. “This is something the public is largely unaware of, how more than a million private contractors are cleared to handle highly sensitive matters.”

MORE AT:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/06/contract-security-clearance-charts/66059/

[Recursion]

1. One problem is that "Secret" is essentially a barren wasteland

In addition to classifying too much stuff to begin with, a lot of it is classified too highly, with the result that anybody who's going to do anything has to get a full SCI.

[hootinholler]

8. I suspect that a lot is classified for the wrong reason

To cover up a crime, or to save face rather than a valid National Security concern.

[KoKo]

9. SOMETHING needs to be REFORMED...is what you are saying?

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. It's all about the money!

The revolving door between politics and corporate leadership insured that 9/11 would be used to vacuum up staggering amounts of taxpayer money. The fact is we could have single payer, free college for all and a host of other benefits were our country not being controlled by a plutocracy. We are now simply the most modern banana republic the world has ever seen.

[Mnemosyne]

3. You nailed it, Vinnie. A shame, could have been such a good place if not for the greed. nt

[Initech]

7. Yup. Follow the $$$$$.

[Octafish]

4. Freedom from oversight.

Which, when you're helping launder trillions, comes in handy.

[KoKo]

10. Outsourcing Accepted by All of Us...Schools, Government, Local Governments...

FARM IT OUT for PROFIT!

It's quite concerning.

[xchrom]

5. Du rec. Nt

[B2G]

6. So now he's a 'spy'? nt

[KoKo]

11. No you must have read too quick...He's a TRUTH TELLER with a Moral Compass!

That's what it's about.. Folks seening Wrong Doing and Speaking Out.

Isn't this what America "Used to Be About?"

[KoKo]

12. Kick since this issue has come up again and folks might have missed this article.