Over at The Agonist I see there's a posting about an advertisement for CIA language instructors in the NY Times. He says:
Not sure what to make of it.
Seems like a strange response, since it seems pretty self-evident to me-- the CIA needs people who speak different languages. Contrary to popular belief, the CIA is not all about subverting foreign governments, funneling arms to insurgents, and other assorted mayhem. A lot of what goes on there is simply combing through data from newspapers, television, and other sources of information to try and get a handle on what's going on (a.k.a., gathering intelligence). To do this, they need people who speak and read the languages these materials were generated in. No big mystery there-- the NY Times reaches a huge, reasonably cosmopolitan audience, so it makes sense that they would use that strategy for recruitment.
Posted by Jason at September 21, 2003 07:40 PM
I think what Sean-Paul was probably touching upon was what this means to the CIA's upcoming plans for Iran. If the title of the graphic is correct, the language in the ad is Farsi, or Persian. This might simply mean that a few of the CIA's Farsi speakers just went into retirement and they're looking for replacements. It could also mean that they want to start a more intensive campaign doing everything it is that the CIA does best against Iran in the near future.
Posted by: Legerdemain at September 21, 2003 11:32 PM