4 ms·

Rational? Maybe. Ethical? No. Legitimate? Hell no.

nix23 5y ago
Fun fact, the CIA had/has a rule not to impersonate priests etc, journalist or personnel of NGO's in undercover missions (because they have a hard life in some country's already). But then there is that excellent movie Spy Game....
- nuclearnice1 5y ago
  The CIA reportedly used the “Save the Children” charity as a front for a fake hepatitis B vaccination program in Pakistan to help confirm Bin Laden’s location. A ban on the polio vaccination program in some Taliban territory and attacks on vaccine workers followed.
  - nix23 5y ago
    Hint to Spy Game where Brad Pitt plays a Journalist as an active CIA agent was no mistake.
    - nuclearnice1 5y ago
      I’ll look for it on streaming.
- pessimizer 5y ago
  Sadly, they didn't have any such rule about impersonating healthcare workers or weapons inspectors, making vaccine outreach an extremely dangerous occupation for charities and making treaties that rely on inspections extremely difficult.
- 1cvmask 5y ago
  In fact the CIA uses all the above you mentioned ranging from priests, charities, NGOS, humanitarian outfits, journalists and the media as fronts and covers for their spying. It is documented multiple times over decades. The CIA even has it's own official NGO called the National Endowment for Democracy. My favorite is the US AID CIA spy who goes into Afghanistan in the 1980s that is profiled in Charlie Wilson's war. Or the fake vaccination program they conducted with "humanitarian" NGOs and charities: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-cia-fake-vaccination-campaign-endangers-us-all/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-cia-fake-vacc... My favorite CIA journalists are the ones who worked for CBS and other publications and were involved in promoting Modern Art around the world with NGOs like MoMA, the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artcurious-cia-art-excerpt-1909623 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artcurious-cia-art-excerpt... https://daily.jstor.org/was-modern-art-really-a-cia-psy-op/ https://daily.jstor.org/was-modern-art-really-a-cia-psy-op/ https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161004-was-modern-art-a-weapon-of-the-cia https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161004-was-modern-art-... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/modern-art-was-cia-weapon-1578808.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/modern-art-was-cia-... https://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Cold-War-World-Letters/dp/1565846648 https://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Cold-War-World-Letters/dp/15... https://www.amazon.com/ArtCurious-Unexpected-Slightly-Strangely-Wonderful/dp/0143134590 https://www.amazon.com/ArtCurious-Unexpected-Slightly-Strang... There is a humorous scene in Men In Black where they refer to Andy Warhol as a CIA spy.

Fun fact, the CIA had/has a rule not to impersonate priests etc, journalist or personnel of NGO's in undercover missions (because they have a hard life in some country's already). But then there is that excellent movie Spy Game....

nuclearnice1 5y ago
The CIA reportedly used the “Save the Children” charity as a front for a fake hepatitis B vaccination program in Pakistan to help confirm Bin Laden’s location. A ban on the polio vaccination program in some Taliban territory and attacks on vaccine workers followed.
- nix23 5y ago
  Hint to Spy Game where Brad Pitt plays a Journalist as an active CIA agent was no mistake.
  - nuclearnice1 5y ago
    I’ll look for it on streaming.
pessimizer 5y ago
Sadly, they didn't have any such rule about impersonating healthcare workers or weapons inspectors, making vaccine outreach an extremely dangerous occupation for charities and making treaties that rely on inspections extremely difficult.
1cvmask 5y ago
In fact the CIA uses all the above you mentioned ranging from priests, charities, NGOS, humanitarian outfits, journalists and the media as fronts and covers for their spying. It is documented multiple times over decades. The CIA even has it's own official NGO called the National Endowment for Democracy. My favorite is the US AID CIA spy who goes into Afghanistan in the 1980s that is profiled in Charlie Wilson's war. Or the fake vaccination program they conducted with "humanitarian" NGOs and charities: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-cia-fake-vaccination-campaign-endangers-us-all/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-cia-fake-vacc... My favorite CIA journalists are the ones who worked for CBS and other publications and were involved in promoting Modern Art around the world with NGOs like MoMA, the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artcurious-cia-art-excerpt-1909623 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artcurious-cia-art-excerpt... https://daily.jstor.org/was-modern-art-really-a-cia-psy-op/ https://daily.jstor.org/was-modern-art-really-a-cia-psy-op/ https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161004-was-modern-art-a-weapon-of-the-cia https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161004-was-modern-art-... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/modern-art-was-cia-weapon-1578808.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/modern-art-was-cia-... https://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Cold-War-World-Letters/dp/1565846648 https://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Cold-War-World-Letters/dp/15... https://www.amazon.com/ArtCurious-Unexpected-Slightly-Strangely-Wonderful/dp/0143134590 https://www.amazon.com/ArtCurious-Unexpected-Slightly-Strang... There is a humorous scene in Men In Black where they refer to Andy Warhol as a CIA spy.