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There is an Epic Level difference between a government agency who is ultimately responsible for their conduct to their citizens, one way or another having a sec

There is an Epic Level difference between a government agency who is ultimately responsible for their conduct to their citizens, one way or another having a secret assassination program, and a government paying a 3rd party to carry out assassinations. One particular way in which this is different, is that the CIA can't go out and decide that it (as an organization) wants to freelance for other nations or organizations. Blackwater, once set up as a paramilitary organization who specializes in covert assassinations... who's to say they're not moonlighting for Zetas or the Russian mob? What's the ethical block stopping them? They're already secretly killing people for money.

Zakharov 14y ago
They're not moonlighting for the Zetas or the Russian mob because if they were, they'd lose billions of dollars of CIA money.
- Someone 14y ago
  If you were the government looking to hire a third party to do this kind of things for you, wouldn't you prefer someone with experience? Yes, you could only hire people that went through your own training program, but hiring ones that went through other training programs would give more plausible deniability. It also could be an excellent Way to sow seeds of distrust between otherwise friendly parties.
- knowtheory 14y ago
  Really. And do you think the CIA is auditing Blackwater's books, and tracking all of its operatives? Or are we just taking their word for it?
- Spooky23 14y ago
  Really? Sounds like a great opportunity to blackmail the CIA to me. One of the disadvantages of committing illegal and morally questionable acts is that you become vulnerable to the consequences of the disclosure of those acts.
- runjake 14y ago
  Count the number of shell corporations Academi (formerly Blackwater) has. I lost count at about 100 of them, and I'm sure there's many, many more. Now, track what each shell corp does and who their customers are. I hope you have a vast team dedicated to sorting that out. Academi is staffed by experienced, former CIA personnel who know the ins and outs of the trade. And if you further need convincing, look at Air America and South American CIA operations where the CIA didn't even know what was going on under their OWN chain of command. The CIA is (mostly) not some mystical, all-seeing spy organization. They suffer the same problems as any company/agency of their size. Bureaucracy, and especially PHBs.

Zakharov 14y ago

They're not moonlighting for the Zetas or the Russian mob because if they were, they'd lose billions of dollars of CIA money.

Someone 14y ago
If you were the government looking to hire a third party to do this kind of things for you, wouldn't you prefer someone with experience? Yes, you could only hire people that went through your own training program, but hiring ones that went through other training programs would give more plausible deniability. It also could be an excellent Way to sow seeds of distrust between otherwise friendly parties.
knowtheory 14y ago
Really. And do you think the CIA is auditing Blackwater's books, and tracking all of its operatives? Or are we just taking their word for it?
Spooky23 14y ago
Really? Sounds like a great opportunity to blackmail the CIA to me. One of the disadvantages of committing illegal and morally questionable acts is that you become vulnerable to the consequences of the disclosure of those acts.
runjake 14y ago
Count the number of shell corporations Academi (formerly Blackwater) has. I lost count at about 100 of them, and I'm sure there's many, many more. Now, track what each shell corp does and who their customers are. I hope you have a vast team dedicated to sorting that out. Academi is staffed by experienced, former CIA personnel who know the ins and outs of the trade. And if you further need convincing, look at Air America and South American CIA operations where the CIA didn't even know what was going on under their OWN chain of command. The CIA is (mostly) not some mystical, all-seeing spy organization. They suffer the same problems as any company/agency of their size. Bureaucracy, and especially PHBs.