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Home  >  Calendar  >  Young Professionals International Forum

The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing

Event Date

  • 7/24/2008   6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
    Please arrive early for registration

Location

  • World Affairs Council Auditorium

Address

  • 312 Sutter Street
    Second Floor
    San Francisco, California 94108
Speaker(s)
Tim Shorrock, Investigative Journalist

Tim Shorrock is an investigative journalist who has devoted a quarter-century of research to the intersection of national security and business, specifically researching intelligence contracting for the past four years. His work has appeared in many publications in the United States and abroad, including The Nation, Salon, Mother Jones, Harper’s, Inter Press Service, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Progressive, The Journal of Commerce, Foreign Policy in Focus and Asia Times. He also appears frequently on the radio as a commentator on US-Korean relations and US intelligence and foreign policy, and has been interviewed on Pacifica’s “Democracy Now,” Air America and CBS Radio. Tim Shorrock grew up in Japan and South Korea.

 

Event Details

Outsourcing has become par for the course in business and increasingly in government intelligence gathering as well. In recent years, intelligence contracting has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, with privatization often blurring the lines between public and private sectors. Examples of private contractors can be found in places like Abu Ghraib, and in American intelligence centers throughout the world. Similarly, former high-ranking national security officials can be found in various consulting roles throughout the private sector intelligence industry. Yet, the size, scope, and influence of this intelligence outsourcing has been largely unexamined, and sometimes at odds with congressional oversight and public accountability. Join the Council for a conversation with investigative journalist Tim Shorrock as he discusses this topic in depth in his new book, Spies for Hire.

To listen to this program, please click here or visit our online archive for other recordings.