Love it or hate it, the Central intelligence agency is an American icon. The press that it gets is definitely very mixed. On the one hand, the CIA is seen as defenders of the United States in times of war. During the Cold War, international spying was dramatized.
The popular image was of cloak and dagger black ops CIA agents who fought against international criminals, communists, and madmen to keep the world safe for democracy. At the same time, the aura of secrecy around the Central intelligence agency created a mixed feelings sometimes. It was hard to see an agency that was secretly tinkering in international affairs as the defenders of democracy.
When I signed up for a Central intelligence agency job, I did it partly because I wanted to resolve this contradiction. I had briefly thought of a career with the National Security Agency, but I thought of Central Intelligence as more my style. I wasn't so much interested in data analysis or cryptography as good old-fashioned spying. By being a CIA agent, I would be able to see what went on in around the world and understand a little bit more about the big picture of national security.
Although I can't talk about everything I did for the Central intelligence agency, I can tell you one thing: it is much more routine and workaday than you might expect. There is a lot of making reports, holding meetings, going on routine security and observation missions, and checking in with superiors.
It isn't like some James Bond film where you're constantly involved in fights with ninjas who want to kill you. There certainly were no maniacal geniuses that I had to do battle with. Most of the stuff I did was simply helping my superiors developed a more sophisticated and complete knowledge of the world intelligence situation.
The Central intelligence agency is definitely necessary. One of the things that I learned when doing the job was the full meaning of the term knowledge is power. Although the CIA does occasionally hold covert operations, the most important thing we do is basically to gather information. The more our leaders know about the world political situation and potential threats, the more they can do to keep us safe and avert these threats. Central intelligence agents get to travel abroad, meet interesting people, and help make the world safer. What could be a better job than that? I can't think of one. That is why I am working for the CIA. - 15784
The popular image was of cloak and dagger black ops CIA agents who fought against international criminals, communists, and madmen to keep the world safe for democracy. At the same time, the aura of secrecy around the Central intelligence agency created a mixed feelings sometimes. It was hard to see an agency that was secretly tinkering in international affairs as the defenders of democracy.
When I signed up for a Central intelligence agency job, I did it partly because I wanted to resolve this contradiction. I had briefly thought of a career with the National Security Agency, but I thought of Central Intelligence as more my style. I wasn't so much interested in data analysis or cryptography as good old-fashioned spying. By being a CIA agent, I would be able to see what went on in around the world and understand a little bit more about the big picture of national security.
Although I can't talk about everything I did for the Central intelligence agency, I can tell you one thing: it is much more routine and workaday than you might expect. There is a lot of making reports, holding meetings, going on routine security and observation missions, and checking in with superiors.
It isn't like some James Bond film where you're constantly involved in fights with ninjas who want to kill you. There certainly were no maniacal geniuses that I had to do battle with. Most of the stuff I did was simply helping my superiors developed a more sophisticated and complete knowledge of the world intelligence situation.
The Central intelligence agency is definitely necessary. One of the things that I learned when doing the job was the full meaning of the term knowledge is power. Although the CIA does occasionally hold covert operations, the most important thing we do is basically to gather information. The more our leaders know about the world political situation and potential threats, the more they can do to keep us safe and avert these threats. Central intelligence agents get to travel abroad, meet interesting people, and help make the world safer. What could be a better job than that? I can't think of one. That is why I am working for the CIA. - 15784
About the Author:
Charlie Reese enjoys teaching and giving psychic readings on his free psychic website weekly.