Government agencies recruiting on college campuses is
nothing new but there have been several stories in the post-2001 era that are a
little troubling in light of all the new surveillance data that is being made
available through Snowden and Wikileaks.
It would be one thing to recruit seniors who are on their
way out of the university, catching them (as it were) before they head off to
work in the corporate world. But there are indications that students are being
tagged and recruited early in their college experience.
Why? Is it so their educational choices can be piloted
through a controller or contact? Or are they being recruited to spy on student
groups, campus life, and academia?
Are they potential agent provocateurs? Is this COINTELPRO
reborn?
There have been not a few who have called for a return of McCarthyism
with its black lists and loyalty tests. As obnoxious as McCarthy was he
operated in the open. He grandstanded and wanted as much attention as he could
muster.
Now everything is being done in secret. Like McCarthyism
reputations can be destroyed and people can be intimidated, but it's all being
done in the shadows.
The frameworks are being established. If another 'event' on
the scale of what happened in September 2001 were to occur the national
response would be quite different. There's a whole world which is already operating
that would simply have to increase power so to speak and our society as we know
it would evaporate.
I know it sounds cynical but I would imagine that most 17-21 year-olds would relish the opportunity of being "targeted" and "recruited" by the CIA and see it more as a thrill and an opportunity to be part of an "elite" than an infringement on their civil liberties. It would also open up tremendous career opportunities after graduation. If the CIA is backing you, then there isn't a single employer who would turn you down. In addition, I'm sure they would offer generous financial assistance to pay off those burdensome student loans, if not fully subsidize your education altogether. All that drug money they get from Latin American cartels has to go to some good use, right?
ReplyDeleteIf the only cost to those recruited is to spy on some radical left-wing campus group during their spare time, I can't imagine the average 18-year-old objecting too strongly unless he/she is left-wing themselves.
I don't think it's cynical at all. I know I would have been thrilled at the prospect, especially if it was couched in terms of service to country. That is- I would have felt that way before I was converted to Christianity.
ReplyDeleteI joined the military because I wanted excitement and adventure. I wanted to be 'part' of something bigger. I was stupid. I'd read too many Tom Clancy books and was fervent in my patriotism.
I praise God though. At the time I was really set on aviation. I have a pilot's license etc... and I wanted to pursue those avenues. So I wanted to be working somewhere in the aviation field. They (the recruiters) wanted me for Intel work. My aptitude was such that they wanted me to pursue that field. The recruited had me all set up to do some kind of analysis work at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. I turned it down. I don't know why. I wasn't a Christian yet. It was an exciting prospect (probably boring in reality) but I wanted to work toward flying helicopters.
In the end I abandoned aviation. It's a terrible field for someone who aspires to be a Christian husband and father. After my conversion I was far more interested in learning theology than I was in pursuing an Instrument Rating.
But...it's interesting that I didn't get sucked into that other world. My only regret was that I might have had an opportunity to learn a bit more so I could talk about it now. But on the other hand I'm glad I never got involved.
While poking around The Guardian for another piece I also discovered this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/oct/10/the-science-of-spying-how-the-cia-secretly-recruits-academics
Nothing too surprising but it keeps one's interest. It's just something to file away.