serious question: what do the CIA and similar organizations do?

[IcyPeas]

Are they actually stopping some of these attacks that we are not aware of?

MI5? KGB?

Don't we have spies any more?

I understand some of these terrorists are small groups of people, so are probably hard to find and infiltrate.... but really... the CIA type people should have informants and other intelligence, shouldn't they?

Or am I just watching too many movies?

[leftstreet]

1. 17+ US Intel Agencie$

Plus Godz knows how many in Europe

Yeah...what the fuck do they do exactly?

[Ex Lurker]

6. A friend from college works for them

from what little he's said about it, I infer that a lot of his job is sitting in a cubicle and reading foreign publications.

[NightWatcher]

2. We have spies but we are too dependent on SIGINT (signals intell)

We got dumb and started spying in such an unfocused manner and now there is a huuuuuge glut of info that is collected. So to the point that we now link people to dreadful acts after they've occurred.

But yes, we've good guys still trying to stop these things.

[sharp_stick]

3. The nature of their business makes

it so we'll never really know what gets done.

[pinboy3niner]

4. Even their own KIA losses are secret

Marked by anonymous stars on a wall at CIA HQ.

[doc03]

5. Where have you been I have heard of numerous terrorist plots they have

uncovered before they were carried out. I don't care how much security you have some of them will get through.
With all the soft targets with thousands of people gathering and no security it is amazing there aren't more.