The side effect of that level of paranoia is that office politics becomes an extreme sport. If you can make it look like the guy angling for the same promotion

The side effect of that level of paranoia is that office politics becomes an extreme sport. If you can make it look like the guy angling for the same promotion as you has a secret; or is actively selling out the country... It may also explain some of the institutional rigidity we see in the IC's response to events. If questioning certain assumptions may get you not just fired, but jailed; and you value your career and your freedom, those assumptions become very hard to question. (e.g. the same assumptions that Mr. Snowden started questioning )