On 10/19/06, Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
There's a big difference between saying that there are organizations that allow elites to bond and scheme - not always successfully - and that Dick Cheney wired WTC 7 to explode.
right. The CIA, for example, is a clear example of a "conspiratorial organization." It has pulled off some major conspiracies, such as the overthrow of Allende in 1973 (on Sept. 11, by the way). However, it also shows the problems with such conspiracies. Its compartmentalization means that different branches often have a hard time communicating with each other. Moles -- such as Aldrich H Ames -- can infiltrate while crazy people -- such as James Jesus Angleton -- can run wild. It's hard to keep its operations totally secret, as Philip Agee and others have proven. It's sometimes hard to motivate the "officers" to work for the CIA: in recent years, morale has been low, while pay in the "private sector" has been relatively high. In recent years, if I understand correctly, the vast majority of CIA officers who have gone "bad" have done so entirely for the money, not for ideological or political reasons. This is made more complicated because the CIA usually has to work with other agencies of the US government (or at least get their approval) and requires allies in other countries (such as Pakistan's notorious secret police, which worked actively to promote the Taliban). The CIA often does not have enough resources or "human intelligence" sources in foreign countries and thus must make all sorts of compromises. They also have to compete with other conspiratorial organizations, such as their former informal ally, al Qaeda. The CIA doesn't always get along with secretive groups that are supposed to be on their side, such as the FBI and the NSA. Thus, it's evil but far from omniscient, omnipotent, or omnipresent. As with other conspiratorial organizations, we should not assume that they are able to steer the historical process exactly to its liking. Its leadership can make history, but not exactly as they please. -- Jim Devine / "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
