A hidden world, growing beyond control by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin

[Jefferson23]

The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.

These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.

The investigation's other findings include:

* Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States.

* An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.

* In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings - about 17 million square feet of space.



remainder: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/a-hidden-world-growing-beyond-control/

[Hestia]

1. and people wonder why we are in debt -- just ask the 'pugs who funded these "agencies"

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Ironic that the very same contingent that screams about "big Government" has no

qualms about hiring "private" agencies to do exactly the same things, and spending taxpayer money for them.

[ensho]

3. just like the neo cons planned it and are now using it

nt

[niyad]

4. not that we are surprised, though. it certainly appears that the attacks on sept 11 2001

were a godsend to the intelligence industrial complex.

[asjr]

5. I wonder how many of these people are

actally lost in the system? How much of our taxpayer money is lost also?

[grasswire]

6. Kudos to The Post for this expose

They give an e-mail contact. I hope each of us will take a moment to congratulate Dana Priest and William Arkin on this achievement. I'm sure they accepted some small measure of danger taking this on.

E-mail: [e-mail]

Personally, I would trust William Arkin with my life simply because of his fierce advocacy for truth about military matters over the last ten years. He's a true journalist. The Bushies attempted to smear him. Looks like he has prevailed.

[Demeter]

7. Yeah the US Has Its Own Stasi

I'm waiting for the Potomac Wall to be built next.

[grasswire]

8. why is this not off the charts on DU hits?

The most important story since Dana Priest earned the Pulitzer for exposing the secret torture camps!

Maybe this also needs to be on LBN.

[Wilms]

9. :shrug: n/t