Interesting example of how private intelligence firm Diligence conducts its business.
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Comments ( 4 )
That’s an interesting story–an interesting parallel to the stories about PMCs we always read about in the news.
What’s your opinion on private intelligence companies/think -tanks like DEBKA, Stratfor, Jane’s, and Power and Interest News?
A.E added these pithy words on
Feb 18 07 at
5:14 pm
I like the idea, they can serve as powerhouses for innovative thinking if they pull in the right talent. But all too often they don’t, instead relying on recycling public sector guys and whoever has access to the big ticket items.
But that’s a question of scale. Like the industry analysis field – boutique analyst firms are likely to spring up as the public system (and its offshoots you’ve listed) begins spinning its wheels. And these boutique firms won’t rely on solely security clearances for thinking (doing so would not be competitive).
Shlok added these pithy words on
Feb 18 07 at
6:19 pm
I can see that happening.
I remember back in 2003 DEBKA reported that Saddam and Uday were really managing the war from a Syrian hotel—definitely was not one of their finest moments.
A.E. added these pithy words on
Feb 18 07 at
11:53 pm
It would be nice to say that you got what you paid for when hiring a firm like this, but there are a lot of former case officers/agent handlers out there of dubious quality. You get ahead in the business (on the inside) by churning out reports and building large stables of sources; never mind that they might to total cr@p. There are more top guys who got ahead fudging numbers than there are that recruited deep, meaningful insiders. Turn these quantity-over-quality guys on the private sector and . . . hey, wait, I guess I CAN say you get what you pay for.
And I don’t mean to pick on C/Os exclusively; there are plenty of ex-spooks of all makes and models on the market.
Michael added these pithy words on
Feb 19 07 at
9:14 pm
