US military plans to double spy network
from Salon.com:
The Pentagons military intelligence unit plans to send hundreds more spies overseas, doubling the size of the U.S. militarys spy network, reported The Washington Posts Greg Miller, who recently broke the story of the Obama administration expanding kill lists into a disposition matrix.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) aims to deploy as many as 1,600 collectors in positions around the world with a focus on Islamist militant groups in Africa, weapons transfers by North Korea and Iran, and military modernization in China, according to unnamed officials. Miller noted:
The DIA overhaul combined with the growth of the CIA since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will create a spy network of unprecedented size. The plan reflects the Obama administrations affinity for espionage and covert action over conventional force. It also fits in with the administrations efforts to codify its counterterrorism policies for a sustained conflict and assemble the pieces abroad necessary to carry it out.
Although the DIA, unlike the CIA, is limited to intelligence gathering, the agency plays a major role in identifying targets for military drone strikes. As such, noted Miller, the expansion of the agencys clandestine role is likely to heighten concerns that it will be accompanied by an escalation in lethal strikes and other operations outside public view. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/us_military_plans_to_double_spy_network/